Sean Carey scored two tries against his former team as Dubai Exiles breathed new life into their West Asia Premiership defence with a 33-12 win over Dubai Hurricanes at The Sevens.
For the second time in successive matches, the Exiles overcome significant odds to force the win.
Last time out, they won by a single point away in Bahrain, thanks to a late converted try when they were short-handed.
This time around, they played for more than 70 minutes with 14 men, after their captain Glenn Moore was red carded for striking an opponent early in the set piece. After conceding a 12-0 head start to their fellow tenants at The Sevens, they scored 33 unanswered points, which included five tries.
The result meant they maintained pressure on Jebel Ali Dragons, who host second-placed Doha today, in the hunt for a place in the end of season play-offs.
“That is what we are fighting for at the moment,” Jacques Benade, the Exiles coach, said.
“It was an unbelievable game. There was a lot of character shown.
“Maybe we just handled having 14 men better than they did.”
Hurricanes were briefly reduced to 14 players themselves, via a yellow card.
In the space of that 10 minutes, Exiles scored three times to start their revival.
“There were a lot of boys who stepped up in the second half to make sure they got it,” Benade said.
“It is hard if you lose your captain in the first 10 minutes, especially a guy like Glenn.
“But a lot of boys put their hand up at half time and said, ‘Let’s make sure we play some good rugby’.
“To dominate the second half and put 33 points on them really showed a lot of character.
“I do feel like Bahrain was a massive turning point for us.
“We mentioned that at half time, saying, ‘Do we have that belief to turn this around?’
“The boys proved that they did. On the top of our game, I still believe we can beat anyone.”
The bonus-point win puts the Exiles six points clear of the Dragons in the fourth in the West Asia table, although the Jebel Ali side have three games in hand.
The first of those arrives when they host Doha, who have lost just twice this season, at The Sevens this afternoon.
Bahrain, who are a point ahead of Exiles in third, host Abu Dhabi Saracens in Saar.
The Harlequins, undefeated at the top of the table, are without a fixture this weekend.
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