Win may have come too late, says Gathercole

Dubai Exiles may have returned to the top of the Arabian Gulf League with a useful victory away to Bahrain, but skipper Mark Gathercole is not celebrating.

The Gulf international prop believes that three defeats earlier in the campaign have cost his side any chance of the title which is destined to be clinched either by champions Dubai Dragons or Abu Dhabi.

He said: "It's out of our hands now. All we can do is win our remaining matches and see what happens.

"If the Dragons were to lose to Abu Dhabi, and we then beat Abu Dhabi, things would look different. We do have a slight chance but really we're playing for second place."

The Exiles have a more realistic chance of silverware in the Standard Chartered Gulf Cup.

They entertain Bahrain in the semi-finals next Friday and are confident of going through to face either the Dragons or Abu Dhabi, who themselves clash in Dubai on February 22.

Gathercole added: "The final's going to be an absolute corker. We're starting to play well now. It's taken time for things to settle down but we have a good side with good players who are committed to the club and want to do well. That makes a huge difference."

Lanky lock Oliver Jones claimed a hat-trick of tries in the win over Bahrain which followed a 58-0 home win for the Exiles over struggling Kuwait Nomads.