DUBAI // Daniel Perry, the new Dubai Hurricanes captain, hopes his side can begin to re-emerge as the dominant force in Arabian Gulf rugby after three years of transition.
The lock forward is in his third season at the club. As such, he has only been told about the club’s glory days, rather than experiencing them himself.
Hurricanes were the region’s top club around the turn of the decade, yet they have seen their excellence superseded by Jebel Ali Dragons.
The distance between the clubs was emphasised when the Dragons trounced them in last year’s heated UAE Premiership final at the Centre of Excellence.
However, with a new management team of Ross Mills, who was in charge of the Dragons back then, and James Ham, as well as a new captain in place, they are hoping to close the gap.
“We wanted a fresh approach after last season,” Perry said of the dual appointments of himself and Mills as captain and coach.
“Chris [Gregory, the captain when the club were West Asia’s No 1] enjoyed loads of success, the sort of success the Dragons are having now. The Canes had four or five years of dominance, now it is the Dragons.
“All clubs have transitional phases, and hopefully we are coming out of our transitional phase and are getting a settled squad together.
“We want to win it. The team is definitely good enough and there is no pressure on us.”
Their credentials will be examined by the other nearly side from last season when they travel to Zayed Sports City in the capital for Friday evening's opener. Abu Dhabi Harlequins won last season's Gulf Top Six with a 100 per cent record, before losing to Dragons in the West Asia finale in March.
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