AUCKLAND // Marc Lievremont, the France rugby coach, slammed a section of his Rugby World Cup team as "spoiled brats" after they defied his orders by going out and celebrating yesterday's 9-8 win over Wales to book their place in next week's final.
With an enigmatic smile on his face throughout, Lievremont elaborated on an earlier comment he had made about going to bed in a bad mood, by delivering the withering verdict on some of his players.
"[Today I am] feeling good. I went to bed in a bad mood, because I'd asked the players not to go out.
"And I found out that a few of them had gone out. So we spoke about it this morning and I told them what I thought of them," he said.
"I told them they are a bunch of spoiled brats. Undisciplined, disobedient, sometimes selfish. Always complaining. And it's been like this for four years.
"But at the same time we're in the final. And as I said yesterday we have to believe in this destiny."
Lievremont did not name the culprits but said that he had spoken to them. When asked how the players had responded to his harsh words, he smiled again.
"Oh, they appreciated them," he said.
As the questions continued, Lievremont attempted to diffuse the controversy.
"It's really not very important," he said. "It is not a few cigarettes or a dessert or a few drinks which will affect the preparation for the final."
Meanwhile, Lievermont and the French defensive coach, Dave Ellis, weighed into the debate surrounding the controversial sending off of Sam Warburton, the Wales captain, during yesterday's semi-final.
Warburton was sent off by Irish referee Alain Rolland after tackling French winger Vincent Clerc and dropping from a height after 17 minutes at Eden Park, which gave the French a significant advantage.
I think it was a fantastic rugby league tackle," Ellis said.
The English former rugby league player continued: "Unfortunately we are not playing rugby league, we are playing rugby union.
"As soon as I saw it I thought it was a sending off."
Lievremont said he had watched the match again this morning.
"I had a great time watching it again," he said.
"[People] can talk about injustice, but I have seen the footage again and the red card is justified.
"The referee was consistent. I can't help it if their kicker was not as good as ours. I don't know if the best team won, but France are in the final."
Red flags
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Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
The five pillars of Islam
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Founder/CEO: Mohammed Toraif
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith
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Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
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Prophets of Rage
(Fantasy Records)
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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INDIA SQUAD
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj and Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
SPECS
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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
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
