The Henry Paul era at Jebel Ali Dragons is officially underway with a nine tries to two romp over UAE Conference champions Sharjah Wanderers.
Dragons warmed up for the new season with the former dual code star at the helm with a comprehensive 72-12 victory against Nic Walters’ men at the Jebel Ali Centre of Excellence last night.
There were a brace of tries apiece for UAE internationals Imad Reyal and Ryno Fourie, with Jeremy Copland, James Semple, Saki Thackamrickambule, Shaun McCarthy and Matt Henry also crossing the whitewash in triumph.
Welsh winger Ian Overton, another of Dragons’ UAE internationals, admitted there was still an abundance of areas to work on ahead of the West Asia Premiership and UAE Premiership kick-off later this month, but said there are encouraging signs ahead for the Dubai-based side.
“The ball was slippery and structure needs a lot of work,” said Overton. “There were lots of scores from open play but we need to drill the structure and get that second nature.
Henry Paul’s reign got off to a winning start
“But for a first hit out in awful conditions I think Henry was happy enough. He’s got high standards so he wants us all singing from the same hymn sheet.”
Dragons finished seventh from nine teams in the WAC and came fifth out of six teams in the UAE Premiership last season.
They open up their 2016/17 campaign with a trip to Bahrain on September 23.