SYDNEY // Robbie Deans, the Australia coach, refused to explain his reasons for omitting Matt Giteau from his 30-man Rugby World Cup squad Thursday.
The 28-year-old Giteau made way for Berrick Barnes, as the back-up fly-half for Quade Cooper, in the squad for the World Cup starting next month in New Zealand, an announcement foreshadowed by Giteau's thinly veiled Twitter post on Wednesday when he hinted at his imminent axing.
Deans denied there was any friction between himself and the 92-Test veteran, but he did not explain his reasons for dropping him.
"I don't want to go into specific details," Deans said.
"It's tough enough for him to swallow without picking over that as well."
Deans said he broke the news to Giteau on Wednesday, shortly after arriving back in Australia from Australia's Tri Nations tour of South Africa.
"I wanted to be able to talk to him face-to-face," Deans said.
"I didn't want to impart the message via a text or a phone call. He's earned that respect."
Deans said Giteau "took it well" when called to the Wallabies team hotel to learn of his omission.
"There's no easy way to deliver that sort of news," Deans said.
Before the decision was made official to the public, Giteau indicated on Wednesday he had missed World Cup selection, posting on his Twitter feed "Thank u ballboys, thank u linesman! That's it."
Giteau, who has played as a fly-half, scrum-half and centre for Australia, was a surprise omission from the Australia's Tri Nations squads this year. He has already signed to play for the French club, Toulon, next year, meaning his match at fly-half in Australia's embarrassing loss to Samoa in Sydney last month is likely to have been his final match with the Wallabies.
"Obviously, I am very disappointed not to be in the Australian Rugby World Cup squad," Giteau said in a statement released by his management late Thursday. "It is the pinnacle of world rugby and I will miss it greatly. Having said that, I wish our team the very best of luck, and if there is anything I can do to help their cause in any way whatsoever, I am ready, willing and able."
Giteau said playing for the Wallabies had been a childhood dream: "It has been the greatest privilege of my life."
It has been widely speculated that Deans and Giteau have had an uneasy relationship since the coach opted to name Barnes as his vice-captain for the 2009 tour of Britain and Ireland.
But Deans denied any friction and said he would "absolutely, absolutely" have no hesitation recalling Giteau should injury strike any of Australia's key play makers in New Zealand.
"It's nonsense [that we don't get on]," Deans said. "His attitude is exceptional. You don't get to play 92 Tests, and have that sort of longevity in the game, without having a good attitude."
Giteau, who has played in two World Cups, is likely to play for the Australian Barbarians against Canada at the Gold Coast on August 26, the day before the Wallabies' last Tri Nations Test against New Zealand in Brisbane. The World Cup starts September 9.
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)
Date started: August 2021
Founder: Nour Sabri
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace
Size: Two employees
Funding stage: Seed investment
Initial investment: $200,000
Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East)
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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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 five new places of worship
Church of South Indian Parish
St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
RESULTS
Bantamweight: Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) beat Hamza Bougamza (MAR)
Catchweight 67kg: Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) beat Fouad Mesdari (ALG)
Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) beat Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)
Catchweight 73kg: Mosatafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) beat Yazid Chouchane (ALG)
Middleweight: Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) beat Badreddine Diani (MAR)
Catchweight 78KG: Rashed Dawood (UAE) beat Adnan Bushashy (ALG)
Middleweight: Sallah-Eddine Dekhissi (MAR) beat Abdel Enam (EGY)
Catchweight 65kg: Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG) beat Rachid Hazoume (MAR)
Lightweight: Mohammed Yahya (UAE) beat Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 79kg: Souhil Tahiri (ALG) beat Omar Hussein (PAL)
Middleweight: Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Laid Zerhouni (ALG)
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Can NRIs vote in the election?
Indians residing overseas cannot cast their ballot abroad
Non-resident Indians or NRIs can vote only by going to a polling booth in their home constituency
There are about 3.1 million NRIs living overseas
Indians have urged political parties to extend the right to vote to citizens residing overseas
A committee of the Election Commission of India approved of proxy voting for non-resident Indians
Proxy voting means that a person can authorise someone residing in the same polling booth area to cast a vote on his behalf.
This option is currently available for the armed forces, police and government officials posted outside India
A bill was passed in the lower house of India’s parliament or the Lok Sabha to extend proxy voting to non-resident Indians
However, this did not come before the upper house or Rajya Sabha and has lapsed
The issue of NRI voting draws a huge amount of interest in India and overseas
Over the past few months, Indians have received messages on mobile phones and on social media claiming that NRIs can cast their votes online
The Election Commission of India then clarified that NRIs could not vote online
The Election Commission lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police asking it to clamp down on the people spreading misinformation
EXPATS
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Brief scores:
Juventus 3
Dybala 6', Bonucci 17', Ronaldo 63'
Frosinone 0
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