England defence coach Kevin Sinfield said his side were "in awe" of South Africa's Rugby World Cup quarter-final performance before the teams meet in the last four this weekend.
The Springboks edged host nation France by a single point last weekend in a thrilling encounter to set-up Saturday's semi-final between the reigning champions and England at the Stade de France in Paris.
"We saw the game on Saturday evening and were in awe of the physicality that they brought," Sinfield said. "It was a great showcase for what rugby is about.
"We have the utmost respect for them," he added.
The game in the French capital will be a rerun of the 2019 World Cup final in Japan, which the Springboks dominated to win 32-12. England have changed their coaching staff with Steve Borthwick now in charge after Eddie Jones was sacked last December.
For South Africa, Rassie Erasmus has moved up to a director of rugby role with Jacques Nienaber promoted from his assistant to head coach.
Many of the Springboks' 2019 squad also remain, including emblematic captain Siya Kolisi, fleet-footed winger Cheslin Kolbe and experienced half-backs Faf de Klerk and Handre Pollard.
"I think some will use it and I think some won't be bothered at all because a lot has changed in four years," Sinfield said of the defeat in the 2019 final.
"I know they have a lot of continuity in their coaching team and a lot of their players, but we're in 2023 now.
"We're in France, in Paris, and we look forward to this weekend," he added.
England are considered underdogs for the game. Despite being the only unbeaten side left in the tournament they emerged from one of the easier pools and failed to impress during last Sunday's quarter-final win over Fiji.
"I'm not too bothered. It doesn't matter to me," Sinfield said. "Our focus is trying to support, help and influence our players to be the best they can be at the weekend."
"We know we need to improve again for the weekend to try and get the job done," he added.
A positive for England during the World Cup has been the performance of No 8 Ben Earl, who has kept Billy Vunipola out of the starting line-up, and the likes of Alex Dombrandt and Zach Mercer out of the squad entirely.
"He has been one of the standout players across the tournament," Sinfield said. "If you named a world 15 at this time he would be close to getting in it. The minutes he has played for us, the ground he has covered, he has done a great job for us," he added.
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Dr Mark Mann, scientist
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Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
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THE BIO
Ambition: To create awareness among young about people with disabilities and make the world a more inclusive place
Job Title: Human resources administrator, Expo 2020 Dubai
First jobs: Co-ordinator with Magrudy Enterprises; HR coordinator at Jumeirah Group
Entrepreneur: Started his own graphic design business
Favourite singer: Avril Lavigne
Favourite travel destination: Germany and Saudi Arabia
Family: Six sisters
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Match info
Manchester City 3 (Jesus 22', 50', Sterling 69')
Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 65')
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
The specs
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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Tomorrow 2021
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
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House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
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Tomorrow 2021
Overview
What: The Arab Women’s Sports Tournament is a biennial multisport event exclusively for Arab women athletes.
When: From Sunday, February 2, to Wednesday, February 12.
Where: At 13 different centres across Sharjah.
Disciplines: Athletics, archery, basketball, fencing, Karate, table tennis, shooting (rifle and pistol), show jumping and volleyball.
Participating countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and UAE.
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COMPANY PROFILE
What is a black hole?
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2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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Virtual banks explained
What is a virtual bank?
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority defines it as a bank that delivers services through the internet or other electronic channels instead of physical branches. That means not only facilitating payments but accepting deposits and making loans, just like traditional ones. Other terms used interchangeably include digital or digital-only banks or neobanks. By contrast, so-called digital wallets or e-wallets such as Apple Pay, PayPal or Google Pay usually serve as intermediaries between a consumer’s traditional account or credit card and a merchant, usually via a smartphone or computer.
What’s the draw in Asia?
Hundreds of millions of people under-served by traditional institutions, for one thing. In China, India and elsewhere, digital wallets such as Alipay, WeChat Pay and Paytm have already become ubiquitous, offering millions of people an easy way to store and spend their money via mobile phone. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are also among the world’s biggest under-banked countries; together they have almost half a billion people.
Is Hong Kong short of banks?
No, but the city is among the most cash-reliant major economies, leaving room for newcomers to disrupt the entrenched industry. Ant Financial, an Alibaba Group Holding affiliate that runs Alipay and MYBank, and Tencent Holdings, the company behind WeBank and WeChat Pay, are among the owners of the eight ventures licensed to create virtual banks in Hong Kong, with operations expected to start as early as the end of the year.
