Abu Dhabi Saracens welcome city rivals Harlequins to Al Ghazal this Friday buoyed by a first-ever win in the Gulf Top Six.

Following two near misses away at Bahrain and Doha, Sarries finally got the win coach Steve Evans believed had been coming with a 21-18 victory at Dubai Hurricanes.

The victory could hardly have come at a better time either with league leaders, Quins, visiting on Friday.

The match will be the third time the capital clubs have met in competitive action this season, with Saracens suffering two heavy defeats – 38-13 and 41-12 – so far.

Quins player-coach Jeremy Manning said he was “delighted” to hear Saracens had beaten Canes but is aware it will only make his side’s job tougher this weekend.

“They had a fantastic win last week and I dare say it’s going to give them a lot of confidence, which is great to see from a rugby point of view,” he told Sport360°. “They’re getting better every week and that’s good to see that teams are improving and an Abu Dhabi club is moving in the right direction.”

Saracens’ win was fuelled by a couple of impressive displays from debutants Josh Sharp and James Tirrell, who have joined them on a short-term basis from their Aviva Premiership counterparts.

Manning isn’t worried about facing the newboys though, saying his side “don’t worry about who we’re playing or who they’ve got on the team-sheet.”

Quins have won seven out of sevens games in the regional tournament so far, but their coach insisted the idea of going the whole Top Six season unbeaten had not even been discussed.

Friday’s play has been given an extra pinch of spice with a second XV game between the sides added to the bill.

Both second strings have completed their UAE Conference commitment for the season.

Fixtures 
Friday

15:00 Jebel Ali Dragons v Doha 
15:00 Dubai Hurricanes v Bahrain
17:00 AD Saracens v AD Harlequins