Two of Dubai rugby’s sleeping giants will vie for the UAE Premiership title on Saturday when Dubai Hurricanes face Jebel Ali Dragons in the final in Al Ain.
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Beyond their own clubs, neither side was widely anticipated to reach this point. They finished third and fourth respectively in the table, and had semi-finals last weekend against sides who had finished the regular season with significant points advantages over them.
And yet each made it through. A week after setting the seal on a West Asia Premiership and Dubai Sevens title double, Dubai Tigers were stunned at home by the Dragons.
“Nobody else was expecting much from us, but internally, we were,” Matt Richards, the Dragons coach, said. “We were pretty confident. The last time we had played them they had beaten us, but it was a turning point in our season.
“They beat us in the last five minutes, and we had proved to ourselves that we could mix it with the top teams. Before that we were scraping wins, or losing by one score in the last five minutes, rather than really nailing a performance.
“That game showed the lads they can mix it with the best players. You don’t win the league in the first week of the season, and we have been building to the end. Hopefully we have one more level we can go up in the last game.”
At the same time as the Dragons were upsetting the Tigers, perennial finalists Dubai Exiles lost their grip on the UAE Premiership crown as they were beaten by their neighbours the Hurricanes.
It is a marker of the size of the Hurricanes that their club will be involved in 12 finals at various levels, from first XV down to age group sides, this weekend.
The fact they are competing for the top honour at first-team level is remarkable, though. The Hurricanes were playing second-tier rugby last season, and only won their first match of the XVs season in the last week of January.
Their progress in the time since has been marked, most notably as they inflicted a first defeat of the season on Tigers, then in beating Exiles in the semi-final.
“There has been a hangover since Covid, and this has been the aspiration for the entire time I have been at the club – to get us to the highest level of UAE rugby,” Mike Wernham, the Hurricanes coach, said. “We know there is one more hurdle to go. Being the biggest club in the UAE, that is exactly where we want to be.
“We are incredibly excited. We have always aimed for this. Credit to Dragons, who gave us the biggest beating we have had this year [when they beat them 40-15 in November]. We were not disillusioned by that. The season changed for us during the Sevens.”
In the abbreviated format, the Hurricanes made it to the Pitch 1 final at the Dubai Sevens, where they were beaten by the Tigers.
Even without a trophy, that tournament breathed life into their campaign, according to Wernham.
“We did what we did during the Sevens, but still had no silverware,” he said. “That is what we are targeting this weekend.
“It was a goal in itself to get a win this year, coming back from last season [when they spent a season in Division 1, and won the title], but the way the first half of the season was unravelling we thought we could do more than that.
“Then we targeted top four. The win against the Dragons kickstarted the season.”
A decade or so ago, Dragons and Hurricanes were among the leading sides in the region, regularly vying with each other for top honours.
Recent seasons have proved tougher, with the likes of Bahrain, Exiles and newcomer Tigers leading the way at the top, but Wernham says the two clubs retain a similar ethos.
“Dragons and us have had similar seasons,” Wernham said. “They are an excellent team and, similar to us, they play the game for the right reasons.
“We have an unbelievably talented squad, and the game against the Exiles was the first time this season we have been at full strength.
“Fortunately, we are the same again for the final, so we have no excuses about player availability or the occasion that we are in.
“We are going to Al Ain to give it everything we have got. We respect the Dragons and what they have been through to get to this game, and we are going to give it everything.”
Richards agrees the two sides are similar, most notably in their commitment to attacking rugby.
“For the past few seasons both our clubs, Dragons and Canes, have shown we are dangerous sides when we are on, but we have maybe been bullied by bigger packs,” Richards said.
“That has been to our detriment. I don’t want to take anything away from any of the other clubs, who have been excellent this year, but I think the two form sides are in the final. We have both proved we can score against top level teams, so it should be fun to watch.”
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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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Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
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The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
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THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
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
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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