England's newest international rugby player, Josua Drauniniu, fears his communication skills may not be quite up to scratch.
"I'm not nervous," he says in perfect English, bar a faint West Country accent, after having a dictaphone pushed in front of him. "I just never really know what to say."
He deserves some slack. Drauniniu, who has been permitted leave from service in the Navy to play in the UAE, is the absolute antithesis of the modern, academy-trained rugby player.
"We haven't had the chance to give him any media training yet," admits his England coach, Ben Ryan.
Be that as it may, Drauniniu's reticence with words is chronic. He will make his England debut at The Sevens today and, a fortnight after being selected, he has not even spoken to his parents, who are back at home in Fiji, about it.
"I haven't told them yet," he says. "I might just surprise them. If I get a game, hopefully against Fiji, they might be watching and they might see me.
"After that I will probably call home and have a massive chat with my mum and dad."
He is likely to be spotted. In Fiji, sevens rugby fans rarely miss a beat.
With Waisale Serevi, the greatest sevens player, back in harness as coach of their own team, hopes are high that Fiji can claim back the Emirates International Trophy for the first time in 10 years.
Yet their fans are likely to have a foot in another camp, too. Drauniniu is the second Fijian to join the England ranks in the past couple of seasons, with Isoa Damudamu also back in Dubai for the second time.
Both serve in the British armed forces. Damu is a private in the Army, while Drauniniu has seen active service in the Gulf during his time in Navy.
He left his home in Lautoka on the west coast of mainland Fiji aged 17, to sign up on April 28 2003.
"I met a ship in Muscat in Oman, then went to Lebanon when the whole thing kicked off.
"I was there, getting evacuees on to the ship. I had to get them in and get them food. There were loads of people coming through.
"It was on HMS Bulwark, which is a landing platform deck, quite a big ship, and we had to get all these British citizens out of Lebanon and get them to Cyprus. It was a great experience that I learnt a lot from."
Despite his day job, his life seems to be be more defined by rugby at present. "We played rugby in Djibouti against the French foreign legion, and we beat them. It was a big thrashing, which was really great. We played in Kuwait against the Fijians, but they kicked us."
Much like the Army have done with Damu, when he recently earned himself a contract with one of England's biggest clubs, Wasps, the Navy spied a good PR opportunity through Drauniniu's rugby skills.
He works two days per week, and was given a year off last year to devote to improving as a rugby player.
"I started playing senior rugby for the Navy in 2004 at Twickenham, in the annual inter-services match against the Army," he recalls.
Three years later he was picked up by Exeter Chiefs, a club chasing promotion to English rugby's top rank, which is where he caught the eye of England's selectors.
"I was surprised to get a call-up from England rugby, but here I am," he says.
"I didn't ever think I was going to get a call-up. That is just my mentality. I was just playing weekend rugby for Exeter and I would not have minded if I hadn't been called up.
"I got a call telling me I had been selected in the 12-man team for Dubai, and I was like 'Whoa - this is good!' It is great that I have the chance to represent an international side.
"I don't want to get too ahead of myself, I just want to take it step by step. At first, I am playing for England sevens and we will take it from there."
Ryan, who knew Damu through their former club, Newbury Blues, struggles to contain his zeal over his new South Seas recruit.
"We knew about him, Fiji didn't, and we see him as someone who can go through the game, not just at sevens," said the England coach.
"He is a try scorer. He probably doesn't look quite as quick as he is, because he has a very fluid, effortless way of running. He glides through holes."
@Email:pradley@thenational.ae
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
FIXTURES
Saturday, November 3
Japan v New Zealand
Wales v Scotland
England v South Africa
Ireland v Italy
Saturday, November 10
Italy v Georgia
Scotland v Fiji
England v New Zealand
Wales v Australia
Ireland v Argentina
France v South Africa
Saturday, November 17
Italy v Australia
Wales v Tonga
England v Japan
Scotland v South Africa
Ireland v New Zealand
Saturday, November 24
|Italy v New Zealand
Scotland v Argentina
England v Australia
Wales v South Africa
Ireland v United States
France v Fiji
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Biog:
Age: 34
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite sport: anything extreme
Favourite person: Muhammad Ali
THE%20SPECS
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
Fixtures
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWednesday%2C%20April%203%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EArsenal%20v%20Luton%20Town%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EManchester%20City%20v%20Aston%20Villa%2C%2011.15pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EThursday%2C%20April%204%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ELiverpool%20v%20Sheffield%20United%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The details
Colette
Director: Wash Westmoreland
Starring: Keira Knightley, Dominic West
Our take: 3/5
The Laughing Apple
Yusuf/Cat Stevens
(Verve Decca Crossover)
