Exiles 2 Go Fishing in UAE Division 1

Seventeen year old, Oscar Dillon, grabbed two tries for the Exiles

The Exiles Twos got their UAE Division 1 rugby campaign underway on Friday evening at The Sevens Stadium with the visit of the Dubai Sharks to Pitch 7 beneath the Dubai Exiles‘ Clubhouse, bar, and galleries. With the Sharks 1 team gaining promotion to the UAE Premiership last season, the Exiles Twos would dive in to what has historically been deep water for the men-in-black.

Referee. Shakeel  Ahamed. gets the game underway

Kyle Hugo has his first start at Hooker

Willem Jansen had a great game and bagged a try in the second half

It was an inauspicious start for the home side. With the kick off hanging high in the the Exiles failed to gather the ball and referee Shakeel Ahamed quickly awarded a scrum to the Sharks. Exiles 2s coach, George Perkins, would have been keen to have a look at his all new, and quite young, front row but would have no doubt preferred to wait for some minutes rather than the first thirty seconds of the game.

As it turned out, George would have been more than pleased with that first scrum. Fijian, Jone Bola, along with teenagers Kyle Hugo and Ethan Short more than held their own as the Exiles eight shunted the Sharks pack backwards at an alarming rate of knots.

It was a big red flag for the Sharks and an ominous foretelling of how scrums would impact not only the UAE Division 1 game, but the West Asia Super Rugby and UAE Premiership match that was to follow.

Lock, Andrew Pybus, captained the Exiles side

The first of the Exiles 2s’ six tries beached with five minutes on the clock. A Sharks knock on at the Exiles‘ 10m line was gathered by Kiwi Number 8, Jesse Te Wharau. Mattia Coviello, another teenager in the Exiles‘ ranks, got busy at scrum half quickly moving the ball from the next couple of rucks to Exiles‘ veteran, and Peter Pan of UAE rugby, DuRandt Gerber.

After heavy carries from prop, Jone Bola, and a charge from fullback, Willem Jansen, the more than experienced Number 10 moved the ball deep, into space, and in to the hands of Portuguese centre, Pedro Moura. Pedro removed the Sharks‘ Number 13 from the game and passed the ball along to Darren Etherington who, with a simple two on one to execute, waited for the last defender to commit himself and ran fifty metres to the try line to open the scoring. 5 – 0 to the Exiles 2s.

The second Exiles‘ try almost came from the restart. A try would have been a fair result after the Exiles made their intentions clear that they wanted to move the ball outside of the Sharks‘ defence and give their wings access to the space that was being offered. A sweeping attack from left to right only failed when the final pass missed its mark and found its way into touch just six metres from the Sharks‘ try line.

Referee, Shakeel Ahamed, signalled a penalty to the men-in-black. DuRandt Gerber, kicked the ball into the corner but the Sharks managed to get a fin in amongst the Exiles‘ jumpers and knock the ball back to ground it in their in-goal. Scrum to Exiles. When the ball arrived at the feet of the Exiles‘ Number 8 from Mattia Coviello‘s feed, the impressive Kiwi, Jesse Te Wharau, met little resistance as he powered over to score. Converted by DuRandt Gerber. 12 – 0 to Exiles 2.

Another Exiles‘ teenager, Darren Etherington, opened the scoring

Veteran fly-half, DuRandt Gerber, fancied a run out before the Emirates Dubai 7s

Things settled down for the next ten minutes. both sides choosing to carry hard in the middle rather than look for space out in the wide channels.  However, with twenty minutes evaporated from the first half clock the Exiles returned to what had been working well for them after the Sharks had been awarded a scrum in their own 22 for an Exiles knock-on.

Whatever happened at that scrum the referee was not please about. With the Sharks retreating to their goal line, Mattia Coviello tapped the ball and moved it straight out to DuRandt Gerber. With the Sharks‘ defence scrambling for all their worth, Pedro Moura straightened up, and, as he’d done earlier in the game, played Darren Etherington into space. Left with another two on one to defend, this time the Sharks‘ last defender decided to focus on Etherington and Oscar Dillon was over the line to score his firsts senior Exiles‘ try. 17 – 0 to Exiles 2.

The bonus point score came along ten minutes later. another one for the seventeen year old Oscar Dillon. Once gain a dominant Exiles‘ scrum provided the platform just outside of the Sharks‘ 22. Attacking from left to right, DuRandt Gerber ran a very nice loop with Pedro Moura that created acres of space for himself and Willem Jansen. Willem was brought to ground ten meters out, when the ruck formed Mattia Coviello was the first to arrive.

Andrew Pybus, the Exiles 2s captain, carried hard and direct, Mattia was again the first there and tee’d up Ethan Short who ran through the first tackler before being brought down five meters out. Jone Bola must have thought that he was going to score, but scrambling Sharks‘ defence managed to stop him a metre from the line. Mattia was again quickly on the scene and when he passed the ball to Oscar Dillon, the teenager was already outside of the last defender. 22 – 0 to Exiles 2. Half Time.

A quick discussion about what’s working and what’s not

Flanker, Will Simmonite, looks for an offload

Flanker, Will Simmonite, got the second half off to a flyer. The former Exiles‘ Mini & Youth player is back from university in England and working at The Sevens Stadium. After a penalty for a high tackle in the Sharks 22, Mattia Coviello was yet again quick to get things moving, passing the ball to DuRandt Gerber, who moved it on to Will Simmonite. Will still had a bit to do, but a swerve beyond the very narrow defence and he was diving across the try line. Converted by DuRandt Gerber. 29 – 0 to Exiles 2.

Flanker, Matt Johnston, played his first competitive game in an Exiles‘ shirt

The sixth and final try of the evening for the Exiles caught everyone napping. With almost fifteen minutes on the clock the Exiles had a lineout half way between the Sharks ten metre and 22. While both packs were discussing numbers on their way to forming the line DuRandt Gerber was already making his run, Willem Jansen was quick of thought, threw the ball in to Gerber, and followed him on his run.

With only one Sharks defender alive to what was going on, DuRandt Gerber delivered a simple draw and pass to give Willem Jansen an unopposed run in to the posts. Converted by DuRandt Gerber. 36 – 0 to Exiles 2.

You have to give credit to the visitors from Al Habtoor Polo Club, despite the scoreline they stayed in the fight and battled to the final whistle. Two converted tries for the Sharks in the final quarter made for a competitive scoreline, the second Sharks‘ try being a hugely entertaining ninety metre hack through foot race after an Exiles‘ pass didn’t find its intended recipient in the Sharks‘ 22. 36 – 14 to Exiles 2. Final Score.

Dutch flanker, Philip van Hove, debuted for the Exiles on the wing

DUBAI EXILES 2 vs DUBAI SHARKS 2

UAE Division 1 (11th October 2024) – The Sevens Stadium