Dubai Hurricanes emerge on top

Dubai: The Dubai Hurricanes gate crashed the Dubai Exiles' party by digging deep to produce a fine team performance and lift the Gulf Cup for the first time in their history.

The Exiles cruised through to the play-off and were favourites to clinch a third successive triumph on home territory before the Sevens move from their Al Aweer headquarters to the impressive new Emirates-backed sports complex next year.

But the Hurricanes had not read the script and after a tight first half which was dominated by the two defences they surged clear and then held firm under pressure as Exiles tried to pull the game out of the bag.

Nick Dreves showed his pace to cross twice for the Hurricanes in a 19-12 success while Ian Gregory pounced on a loose ball behind the line for a well-deserved try although the hard-working forward may not remember the score after suffering a heavy knock just minutes earlier which left him seeing stars.

Coach Brian Allen said: "We've worked so hard over the past few weeks and to win like this is fantastic for the boys. We knew we really had to put the Exiles under pressure when they had the ball, because if we did not then they would run riot. We kept going and kept going and were exceptional."

The victory means the Hurricanes can justifiably call themselves the top club in the region as they are also the Gulf Cup and Gulf League champions.