The UAE’s admirable quest for a place at the next Rugby World Cup finally reached its end at the weekend when they were soundly beaten by Namibia in Uganda.
The loss was predictable. After all, they were playing against a fully professional side coached by Jacques Burger, a great of the English Premiership with Saracens, who have played at the World Cup seven times themselves.
The fact the national team made it that far was a fine effort, their best yet in 14 years as a competitive entity.
For the tour to Uganda, the amateur players of the national team were biting into annual leave they might otherwise have wanted to use elsewhere. One player cut short his honeymoon to play. Another flew in fresh from getting engaged.
It had been the best part of a month since they had earned their place in the Africa-Asia play-off by finishing second in the Asia Rugby Championship.
Although they have fallen short of a home appearance at the final qualifier, which will be played at The Sevens, Dubai, in November, their exploits should be commended.
So, what happens next? After the massive strides that have been made in recent seasons, one area of concern when looking forward is the age profile of the side.
Many of the players who have brought the UAE to this position – their highest world ranking to date – will not be playing next year, let alone when qualification reaches its business end again in 2029.
Time needs to be invested in young players who will be better off for four years of international rugby experience.
That is easier said than done in the UAE. With no existing structure for professional rugby, retaining good young players within the country, and in a competitive system, has always been a challenge.
The improved performances of the national team have partly come about as a result of the willingness to cast the net beyond the usual confines of domestic competition.
UAE-qualified players have been considered from wherever they can be found, and their availability investigated.
Apollo Perelini and Jacques Benade, the brains trust of the coaching team, have raided their contacts books.
It has turned up quality players like Sam Bullock, Gerard Pieterse, Max Johnson and Jack Stapley; all based overseas but recalled to play for the country where they spent their formative years in rugby.
Change beyond that will have to be incremental. A move to semi-professionalising the game in the Emirates would take a massive shift, let alone having a fully professional set of players, as happens in the countries they are now actively competing against.
But they have shown over the past two years they are increasingly open-minded and nimble. A set of extremely talented Fijian players have been recruited to help develop the game among Emiratis.
They will qualify to play for the national team in due course. If they can have a similar effect to their compatriots, Sakiusa Naisau, Niko Volavola, Epeli Davetawalu and Emosi Vecanaua, it will serve the national team well.
Relying on readymade, imported talent has limits, though, and will mean the average age of the side will always be high.
There is no easy fix to reversing the talent drain. Even players who do not look abroad to further either their professional or playing careers, or for education, are not guaranteed to remain involved.
For example, Robert March, a product of British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi, is set to be lost to the system after signing professional terms to play football with Al Jazira this summer.
But if they can keep as many as possible of the following players engaged, it would swell the player pool to the point where they could challenge Hong Kong for the Asian qualifying berth in the next sequence of World Cup qualifying.
Young players to watch in UAE rugby
Scroll through the gallery below to find out more about the emerging talent on the UAE rugby scene. Click on the 'i' icon to reveal a short profile of each player.
UAE SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Adel Al Hosani
Defenders: Bandar Al Ahbabi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Mohammed Barghash, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Hassan Al Mahrami, Yousef Jaber, Mohammed Al Attas
Midfielders: Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Hamad, Khalfan Mubarak, Khalil Al Hammadi, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Harib Abdallah, Mohammed Jumah
Forwards: Fabio De Lima, Caio Canedo, Ali Saleh, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
(All games 4-3pm kick UAE time) Bayern Munich v Augsburg, Borussia Dortmund v Bayer Leverkusen, Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin, Wolfsburg v Mainz , Eintracht Frankfurt v Freiburg, Union Berlin v RB Leipzig, Cologne v Schalke , Werder Bremen v Borussia Monchengladbach, Stuttgart v Arminia Bielefeld
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
TALE OF THE TAPE
Manny Pacquiao
Record: 59-6-2 (38 KOs)
Age: 38
Weight: 146lbs
Height: 166cm
Reach: 170cm
Jeff Horn
Record: 16-0-1 (11 KOs)
Age: 29
Weight: 146.2lbs
Height: 175cm
Reach: 173cm
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
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The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
