Heres our final Gulf Rugby Roundup of 2019 as we find out who will be heading into Christmas ‘Top of the Pops’ across all of the the domestic leagues.

Team of the Week – Abu Dhabi Saracens 1st XV

Saracens 1st XV have had a fantastic lead up to the Christmas break with an unbeaten run of five wins from five in the Division One league. Following the disappointment of just missing out on qualifying for the 2018/19 Grand Finals, the Sarries boys have really set out a marker in the first half of this season, which should see them in good contention to make up for loosing out last season.

West Asia Premiership

Sitting just out in front in the West Asia Premiership league are the Dubai Exiles. Last years finalists have also enjoyed the success of an unbeaten first half to their 2019/20 Gulf Rugby campaign. Exiles are the only team to have beaten Bahrain RFC who continue to chase close behind them with a two point deficit. Also looking comfortable to be in with a shot at the finals come the end of the season, are the Dubai Hurricanes, who have turned around their fortunes from last season where they finished second from bottom. The battle for that fourth spot is looking tasty though. Abu Dhabi Harlequins and Premiership newbies – Dubai Tigers, will be looking to make every single point count moving forward but there’s still plenty to play for, so we look forward to see how the second half of the season plays out.

UAE Division One

As mentioned in our Team of the Week, Saracens will enjoy their Christmas break knowing that they have a 100% win record keeping them above Hurricanes 2nd XV with a five point cushion. Chasing a top four finish are the Exiles 2s and Sharjah Wanderers. Last year, Gulf Rugby Management disqualified the Exiles 2s due to them forfeiting four fixtures throughout the season so they’ll want to make amends this season and will be looking to be in contention for a top four finish.

UAE Division Two

The Division Two league is going to be intriguing to watch once again this season. It’s a four horse race with Barrelhouse, RAK Rugby, Harlequins 3s and new comers, Muscat Rugby all with fifteen points at the half way point. Barrelhouse have inflicted some heavy defeats throughout the season which leaves them 70 clear on points difference ahead of RAK. There could be a real battle to see who finishes in the top two places to earn those teams a place in this season’s Grand Finals Day.

UAE Womens Sevens Series

We’re into the third season of competitive Womens rugby and we’re finally starting to see the gap close between two time winners, KnightsEagles (formerly the Eagles). The Dubai Hurricanes have knocked the KnightsEagles off their perch, currently sitting top of the table having won three of the four rounds played so far. The upcoming Dubai Rugby Sevens will prove interesting as we see if the KnightsEagles can make it a third Gulf Women’s rugby title in a row, having previously won under their old Eagles RFC badge.

So that’s about it for this half of the season. We now turn our attention to the Dubai 7s which will begin on the 5th December over at The Sevens Stadium.