UAE 0 Japan 111
Japan: Tries: Arlidge, Aruga, Nicholas 3, Endo 2, Usuzuki 4, Ono, Kikutani, Holani, Webb 2, Ives. Cons: Arlidge 12, Nicholas
Man of the match: Takashi Kikutani (Japan)
DUBAI // As the UAE’s amateur players did their best to limit the damage in a chastening defeat to the World Cup-bound professionals from Japan, the visitors were focused on other things.
When Hitoshi Ono went over for Japan’s 43rd point, with still less than 20 minutes on the clock, John Kirwan, their coach, expressed mild displeasure that his captain had not dotted it down directly under the posts.
James Arlidge, the fly-half, had to take his kick at goal from five yards to the right of the posts instead.
Such is the precision the Japanese side, who will face greater challenges later this year when they face mightier teams, such as New Zealand at the World Cup, aspire to.
The cavernous difference between these two sides can be of little surprise, given the disparity in resources available to each nation.
Japan's coaching staff had four Apple laptops between them, on which to examine the performances of their players.
While they are now set to stay on in the UAE for two days of training, the home side's players will be thinking about a return to their day-jobs.
They will need to take up more annual leave when they travel to Hong Kong next weekend for a match which will decide who will finish in second place in the HSBC Asian Five Nations table, as last night’s win a fourth-straight title for Japan.
Ryan Nicholas, the Australia-born centre, punched holes in the UAE midfield at will, helping himself to three tries.
Such dominance was perhaps to be expected from a player who finished the 2002 season as the leading try-scorer for Otago Highlanders in Super 12.
One of those in his direct line of sight, Jon Beeton, an engineer who plays for the Dubai Exiles, had the brightest moment in an otherwise bleak evening for the home side.
His break after making an interception on his own 22 resulted in the one occasion when the UAE crossed the Japanese try line.
They were denied a try however as the referee ruled Sean Hurley, the chasing winger, had been beaten to the touchdown.
“We ran into a pretty spectacular Japanese performance,” Bruce Birtwistle, the UAE coach, said. “The speed and accuracy of their attack was sublime.
“It was a pretty hard team to defend against when you are chasing shadows.”
Even Kirwan, who had been critical of his side’s performances to date in the competition, was impressed by his charges.
“Our goal was to have a complete performance and I was very pleased with the structure we kept throughout the whole 80 minutes,” he said. “I’m pretty happy we are heading in the right direction. We have seen some improvement in the UAE team, and they were buoyed after their [win over] Kazakhstan, so we certainly did not underestimate them.”
The UAE now have to lift themselves for a trip to Hong Kong that will decide who finishes second behind the perennial victors, Japan.
Mike Cox-Hill, the national team’s captain, insists it will not be hard to rally his side for the decisive fixture.
“We are meeting Japan, who are 13th in the world, in a World Cup year, they have had two matches and they are a well-oiled machine,” he said.
"We have had a great start to this campaign. Our primary objective is to retain second place and we have all that to play for next year."
pradley@thenational.a
The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
WWE Evolution results
- Trish Stratus and Lita beat Alicia Fox and Mickie James in a tag match
- Nia Jax won a battle royal, eliminating Ember Moon last to win
- Toni Storm beat Io Shirai to win the Mae Young Classic
- Natalya, Sasha Banks and Bayley beat The Riott Squad in a six-woman tag match
- Shayna Baszler won the NXT Women’s title by defeating Kairi Sane
- Becky Lynch retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match
- Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women’s title by beating Nikki Bella
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
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
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NO OTHER LAND
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Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
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Army of the Dead
Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera
Three stars
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MATCH INFO
Manchester United v Everton
Where: Old Trafford, Manchester
When: Sunday, kick-off 7pm (UAE)
How to watch: Live on BeIN Sports 11HD
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ahmed Raza
UAE cricket captain
Age: 31
Born: Sharjah
Role: Left-arm spinner
One-day internationals: 31 matches, 35 wickets, average 31.4, economy rate 3.95
T20 internationals: 41 matches, 29 wickets, average 30.3, economy rate 6.28
Kill%20Bill%20Volume%201
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