Despite a thrilling 25-18 defeat at Abu Dhabi Harlequins last week and a poor showing in their opening win against Doha, Dubai Exiles scrum-half Ed Armitage believes things are beginning to click.
Michael Sole and Nathan Watts are injury doubts for the hosts but Armitage is confident ahead of the visit of Bahrain.
“We’ve progressed over the last two weeks and to push Quins to the limit with 20 per cent possession and beating Doha with an awful performance is a testament to the lads,” he said. “Things are starting to click more, making us a dangerous team.”
Despite being two from two, Bahrain head coach Louie Tonkin doesn’t think his team have been at their best.
“We performed quite badly last week (beat Dubai Hurricanes 24-11), even with a win, so we’ve been working hard this week on righting those errors,” said the Welshman. “We know Exiles are one of the strongest sides in the league so it’s going to be a big step up for us in terms of challenge.”
Canes travel to Jebel Ali Dragons and captain Dave Knight is looking for a response from his players.
“We’ve seen the footage from Bahrain and know we should have won,” he said. “It’s unforgivable looking back at some mistakes we made. I’m expecting a typical Canes v Dragons game; intense and fiery. Bragging rights are definitely on offer and it should be a cracker.”
Dragons coach Henry Paul is missing a few players due to injuries and work commitments but was remaining tight-lipped on his selection.