In a nutshell The most decorated UAE club of recent seasons did not reach their usual high standards in the first half of the campaign. In a nutshell From the look of Qatar's national team, whose players are almost exclusively drawn from the long established capital club, Doha will be formidable in the Top Six. The revival has started, with four wins from five in the first half of the domestic campaign. In a nutshell After a torrid last season, Bahrain hope their home ground in Saar will become the fortress it once was. The UAE back Imad Reyal return to the fold after going absent at the Dubai Sevens. In a nutshell The holders have the anguish of two finals defeats already this season fuelling the defence of their cross-border title. 'We firmly believe the Top Six will see an increase in standard from the UAE Premiership and therefore create a large challenge for us.' We simply must start this Gulf Top Six competition at a similar standard or we will not manage to add to the UAE Prem and sevens titles. 'That victory was the result of hard work and momentum building over a six-week period. 'We are working hard to replicate and exceed the standard we set by winning the UAE Premiership grand final,' said Paul Hart, the Dragons captain. 'Doha has been a fortress of rugby and we will ensure that it stays that way for the rest of the season.'Īn trip to Qatar is arguably the toughest assignment on the fixture list in this competition, and the Dragons know they have little chance to rest on their laurels with two trophies already banked this season. 'There has been a lot of talk among ourselves regarding last season, winning the West Asia Cup and missing out on other trophies so that is a big motivator,' Clarke said. The two sides each pose compelling cases to be considered favourites for the tournament, although each fell at the final hurdle last time around. Only time will tell, for now the focus and priority is the Top Six and let's see what comes into fruition from there.'Īs he is yet to return from his Christmas holiday, Clarke will be absent when Doha host the Jebel Ali Dragons in their opening Top Six fixture this afternoon. 'It's a great honour to be a part of such a set-up. 'If the opportunity presents itself based on my performance then of course I would put my hand up for UAE rugby and A5N,' said Clarke, who made his debut for the UAE in the 2011 Five Nations. The player himself has missed being involved in the international fold and is keen to catch the eye ahead of the Asian Five Nations at the end of this season. Judging by the evidence of the Cup of Nations before Christmas, when a dearth of experienced players led to the national team being thrashed in all three games, they could do with as many players of Clarke's ilk as possible. Since making the short move across the Arabian Gulf, he has been overlooked for selection for the UAE national team. That film has more joy in its opening credits than Rad has in its entire runtime.DUBAI // Jamie Clarke may have been out of sight for a while now, but the Doha-based flanker hopes to force his way back into the minds of the UAE selectors via the new Gulf Top Six campaign.Ĭlarke was at the helm for most of the ultimately victorious campaign for the Abu Dhabi Harlequins in this competition last season, before taking up a job in Qatar. But this is a humorless affair, directed with workmanlike diffidence by Hal Needham in the nadir of his storied career (an interview with the film’s co-writer Sam Bernard noted that Needham would average 40 camera set-ups a day).įar better would be to revisit the far superior 1983 classic BMX Bandits, directed by “anything goes” filmmaker Brian Trenchard-Smith, and starring a young Nicole Kidman. And if the actors or the writing or literally any other aspect of the film were even remotely fun or appealing, then this might get a pass. Which, of course, is the film’s raison d'être. What passes for the barest thread of a plot essentially asks the question: “Can a small-town teen with exceptional bicycling skill outwit corporate greed while dazzling the girl and avoiding taking the SATs?” There are out-of-town bullies, a wise-cracking little sister, shady old white men, and of course, BMX shenanigans, I mean a lot of BMX shenanigans. If you have fond memories of this film, best to keep them that way, because even seen through a halcyon haze, Rad is a tedious exercise of endurance that has nothing to do the number of bunny hops achieved. A questionable decision in and of itself, but this film has now been restored in 4K, making it just another blip on the “WTF 2020?” radar.

If you’ve yet to reach your threshold of Eighties nostalgia, and also happen to find an empty hole in your soul where the lack of BMX stunt work once resided, sate your inner prepubescent child with Vinegar Syndrome’s reissue of 1986’s Rad.

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