As players in 2014-15, the duo were part of a Sarries side which captured the West Asia Cup before they made a decision to take joint charge of the side when Ali Thompson stood down in the summer.

It’s been a steep learning curve for the pair but Sarries have performed admirably under their stewardship, recovering from a slow start in the West Asia Championship to finish fourth, while a third-place finish in the UAE Premiership is already confirmed ahead of this weekend’s finale.

“It has been a challenge but with the fact Steve and I both combined playing with coaching I think we can both look back on the season with some satisfaction,” said Welshman Nutt. “We feel that every game we played it was competitive.”

In the UAE Premiership, Sarries held their own with Dubai Exiles and Abu Dhabi Harlequins through seven games before a 48-14 defeat to Exiles saw them slip out of title contention last month.

There is still one round remaining, but for the second week in a row Sarries’ opponents have forfeited, meaning that loss to Exiles will bookend their season.

“When we take a step back and see where we were at the beginning of the season, we’re a young club and we started from scratch again this season with a new chairman, committee and coaches, so it’s massively positive,” said Hamilton.

“Both Craig and I knew, being player coaches, we were setting ourselves up to fail, it’s an impossible job. Inevitably you’re going to mess up.  It’s a really tough gig but we put our hands up and I’m chuffed to bits we got to the end of the season finishing third and fourth, we can be proud of that.”