DUBAI // Xodus Wasps need to beat Dubai Sharks by at least 65 points at Sports City on Friday to reach the Nissan Rugby League Cup final, where one of their former players is already in wait.
Al Ain Amblers caused the shock of the tournament when they beat defending champions Abu Dhabi Harlequins 42-40 on Friday.
One of the few Al Ain players to have any experience of the 13-a-side game before this season is Nanu Niazi, a Pakistan international who lives in Sharjah.
He was a Wasps player until the start of the recent union season, when he switched to the newly-formed Conference side Heartbeat Tigers.
His decision to join the side from the Garden City, along with his cousin Azmat, when the format swapped to league looks a shrewd one now, given they are the first side confirmed in the final.
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“I had friends over there and played for Al Ain a few years back as a junior,” Niazi said. “Friday was an amazing game, the first time Abu Dhabi have ever been beaten.
“I have been finding league even more enjoyable [than union] and my younger brother, who comes to the games to watch and video, says it is better to watch.”
To reach the final, his old Wasps teammates have to notch up a hefty win over the Sharks, against whom Al Ain scored a century two weeks ago.
Sharks had to advertise for players in the wake of that defeat, to try to fulfil this fixture as scheduled, in Al Ain on Friday.
The match had to be delayed for a week, and Alistair Field, the Wasps manager, is confident his side can achieve what is required.
“It depends what sort of side Sharks are able to put out, but we are confident we will be able to do it,” Field said.
If Wasps are able to leapfrog the holders Harlequins and earn the second place in the final, they would be confident of success. They narrowly beat Al Ain in the opening match of the season.
“It would be great to play Wasps again because in the opening game we lost to them, so we have some scores to settle,” Niazi said.
“It would be good for Wasps to make it through, because Abu Dhabi have always been so strong in league so far.”
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