DUBAI // Unbeaten Abu Dhabi Harlequins continued their fine form by beating Dubai Hurricanes 23-11 in the Gulf Premiership on Friday night. It started as an evenly matched affair at The Sevens, but the capital side established dominance towards the end of the first-half. The Quins' Murray Strang missed the opportunity to get nine early points on the board when he failed to hit three penalties, while the Hurricane's kicker James Tometzki made sure of his two penalty opportunities, making the score 6-0.
Strang was soon able to make-up for his earlier failures, first by scoring and converting a try shortly before half-time, then with a penalty kick for 6-10. Harlequins were back in attack after the restart, with Tom Callan finishing off some slick play and Strang adding the extras. Another penalty decision from the referee at the other end saw Strang's attempt go between the posts for 23-6. Brad Barker finally crossed for Hurricanes but it was too little too late, especially after James Ham was unable to convert.
"It was a great performance from our perspective," said Richard Harris, the Harlequins chairman. His Hurricanes opposite number said his team had areas for improvement. "They used better tactics and kept kicking it into our half," said Paul Manders. "It was evenly matched in the first half but they got away from us." @Email:stregoning@thenational.ae
