Sport | Rugby
Harlequins all set for clash with Exiles
Defending champions NBAD Abu Dhabi Harlequins Rugby Club open their campaign in the 2008-09 season's Arabian Gulf Cup against traditional rivals from Dubai, the Exiles here on Thursday night.
- Staff Report
- Published: 00:30 September 12, 2008
Abu Dhabi: Defending champions NBAD Abu Dhabi Harlequins Rugby Club open their campaign in the 2008-09 season's Arabian Gulf Cup against traditional rivals from Dubai, the Exiles here on Thursday night.
The match, the first in the round robin stages of the Arabian Gulf Cup, will kick-off at the 7.00 pm tonight at the Al Ghazal Golf Club. The AD Harlequins will be giving debuts to no fewer than nine players.
The club has been fortunate to see a big influx of players in the off season and Chairman Richard Harris, is confident that the team will, once again, have some silver ware to display at their end of season Gala Ball.
"It has been amazing to see so many new players arriving to join the club, seemingly at every session," Harris said.
"There has been an incredible amount of work done in the pre-season, not least of all by the seasons Club Captain, Pete Sampson, and pre-season coach Shaun Pearson.
"These guys epitomize what the club is about and when we see success through the season it will be in no small part due to the huge effort that they put in."
Alistair Thompson, the club's player of the year last season, will captain the Harlequins today.
"The team has trained well this week with the new faces fitting in very well. We know it will be tough out there but the team is definitely up to the task," Thompson said.
Squad: Graham Murphy, Aubrey Roberts, Lele Tusitala, Simon Osborne, Chris Jones-Griffiths, Jamie Clarke, Austin Relton, Alistair Thompson (capt), Mark Simon, Jo Czerpak, Mike Hartley, Johan Kruger, Tim Harwin, David Stolzenberg, Tony Matthews, Peter Sampson, Alan O'Donnell, Jean Carpena, Chris Davies, Sean McMahon, Simon Walster, and Ade Lombo.
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