■ Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons: Friday, 5pm kick off, Zayed Sports City
DUBAI // Ben Bolger, the Abu Dhabi Harlequins captain, is asking his teammates for one final push as they attempt to complete a haul of five trophies this season.
The capital club have claimed the three pieces of silver on offer so far this campaign, losing just one match in the process of claiming the Western Clubs Champions League, the Dubai Rugby Sevens, and the West Asia Premiership.
The final two titles, the West Asia Cup and the UAE Premiership, will be handed out over the next three weeks.
Jebel Ali Dragons are the immediate obstacle for Harlequins in both competitions, starting when they meet at Zayed Sports City in the Cup semi-final this afternoon. Doha host Bahrain in the other semi-final.
The two domestic rivals, who have regularly vied with each other for the major trophies over the course of this decade, will also meet in the UAE Premiership final on April 7.
“Now it is down to the last three games, there is a big push to get over the line,” Bolger, the Harlequins and UAE sevens captain, said.
“We want to win everything that is available to us. We know that is a tough ask, and it is possible for any team to put on one big performance, and any team is capable of turning over another in this league.
“We know the Dragons have some great players, so we are not going into this thinking everything is wrapped up. We know we need to go out and put a good performance in.”
The fact this competition is independent to the 12-match Premiership that preceded it means Harlequins can lay fair claim to being regarded as West Asia’s top side already. That is a mantle they have been denied in a variety of ways in past seasons.
“We have been caught on the wrong side of it for in the past few years,” Bolger said.
“When Jeremy Manning was our coach, we won all 10 Gulf Top Six games, then lost the final. Then last season, when we could really have done with a playoff final [when Dubai Exiles won the double], there was no final.
“We have won the league this year. It is what it is, it is the same for all teams. It might not have been as documented or well known as it should have been, but we have all played the same amount of games.”
Dragons, who qualified to face Harlequins by finishing fourth in the Premiership, are optimistic after a transitional first season with Henry Paul as coach.
“All season, I don’t think we have played badly,” Paul said. “In terms of spirit, it has been there all the time. Even when we have lost, we have dug in and tried. No one has laid down.
“We have not really had a consistent XV, important players have had injuries and I think that has really hurt us in terms of familiarity, working off the ball and communication. Hopefully the team spirit will get us through again.”
pradley@thenational.ae
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs: 2018 Maxus T60
Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder
Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm
Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20NOTHING%20PHONE%20(2a)
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ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- 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
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Awar Qalb
Director: Jamal Salem
Starring: Abdulla Zaid, Joma Ali, Neven Madi and Khadija Sleiman
Two stars
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
