Canes stormed to their first win of the season as second-row Daniel Perry – who recently gave up the captaincy – struck late on against opponents who were down to 13 men, with flankers Tomas Sackmann (red card) and Mike Mills (yellow card) watching on.

“They wanted it more than us, that is bottom line,” said Benade, whose side can expect to lose key ground when Abu Dhabi Harlequins resume playing. “I thought it was maybe the worst performance I’ve seen since I’ve been here.”

Meanwhile, Steve Hamilton kicked all four penalties against Bahrain as Abu Dhabi Saracens ground out a tight opening win.

The fly-half was lethal with the boot as boss Winston Cowie proclaimed his relief about getting off the mark.

He said: “Our season was on the line and we were desperate for a win. That urgency showed in how the boys played.”

Doha supremo Aaron Palmer hoped a hard-fought 23-16 triumph against Jebel Ali Dragons would give their season ignition.

A two-game winning streak for Henry Paul’s men was ended as scrum-half Luke Ward, winger Johnny McMullan and flanker Elliott Jonstone crashed over in Qatar.

“We had to really grind that out,” Palmer said.

“We knew Dragons would come at us. It is all to play for in the next few games and it is only starting for us.”