Eighteen months after competitive shut down across West Asia, amid the uncertainty of the onset of the pandemic, domestic rugby players will return to action for the first time this weekend.
Coronavirus accounted for the entire 2020-21 campaign. Dubai’s clubs were at least able to offer some respite to those craving the sport last season, as they played out a modified, 10-a-side version, designed to limit contact.
An attempt to do something similar in Abu Dhabi between the Emirate’s three major clubs – Harlequins, Saracens and Al Ain Amblers – was quickly aborted.
Now, though, their players are gearing up to return to full contact, full teams, and at full bore.
“It is going to be brilliant, having had no real rugby here for 14 months,” Niall Lear, the Harlequins coach, said ahead of his side’s UAE Premiership home game against Jebel Ali Dragons on Friday.
“Everyone is so excited, although I’m not 100 per cent sure how it will go. In my head, I have a good idea. But we are almost 12 months behind in terms of development. We will see.
“What is for sure is it is going to be awesome to have rugby back in Abu Dhabi.”
Lear acknowledges there could yet be teething issues surrounding the return to play, especially given the 48-hour PCR protocol in place for fixtures in the capital.
Although some players have departed in the time since competitive rugby was last played, he is enthusiastic over the prospects of some new recruits.
For the club as a whole, he estimates membership is currently down by around 25 per cent. That is perhaps no surprise, given “we had 40 minutes of rugby in a year, which was a disaster”.
However, he is optimistic the numbers will start to swell again, especially once junior fixtures return after schools half-term.
“It is a case of trying to convince parents and kids that rugby is as awesome as it was.
“What has been tough has been that sports like football, cricket, and athletics have been going for an extra three or four months before rugby got the OK.
“We want every kid that comes to our junior section to be going home with it as their weekly highlight.
“We are a community club. If we can drive sport in the community and get rugby up and running again, we have all done our job this year.”
While Harlequins and Dragons are meeting at Zayed Sports City, Dubai Exiles will start their UAE Premiership title defence by hosting city rivals Dubai Tigers.
With the Dubai Knights-Eagles senior men’s side no longer active in the competition, the top division is now a five-team contest. Dubai Hurricanes have a bye week and will be playing their traditional club memorial day.
Abu Dhabi Saracens are preparing to defend their UAE Division One title, with a number of new faces, and a new coach in the form of Jason Brown.
He says the club endured similar challenges to that of their neighbours Harlequins, but that “there is light at the end of the tunnel”.
“During this difficult time, it is important that we at Abu Dhabi Saracens are prepared and ready to transition back into rugby within the UAE,” Brown said.
“I know we will do smoothly and effectively when called upon.
“To quote my old coach who I recently met with in the UK, ‘Tough times don’t last, tough people do’. We have always had some tough, determined people at this club.
“Outside of the relevant scientific community, I doubt that many of us foresaw or understood the implications of the magnitude of the pandemic.
“During the prolonged absence of our great community sport, we have lost a number of dear friends, members and supporters.
“However, with the best vaccination programme in the world, we can now look forward to enjoying rugby in Abu Dhabi and the UAE.”
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Results
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5.20pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Moqarrar, Dane O’Neill, Erwan Charpy.
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Landfill in numbers
• Landfill gas is composed of 50 per cent methane
• Methane is 28 times more harmful than Co2 in terms of global warming
• 11 million total tonnes of waste are being generated annually in Abu Dhabi
• 18,000 tonnes per year of hazardous and medical waste is produced in Abu Dhabi emirate per year
• 20,000 litres of cooking oil produced in Abu Dhabi’s cafeterias and restaurants every day is thrown away
• 50 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s waste is from construction and demolition
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Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
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Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.
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Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Breast cancer in men: the facts
1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.
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3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.
4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.
5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 4 (Gundogan 8' (P), Bernardo Silva 19', Jesus 72', 75')
Fulham 0
Red cards: Tim Ream (Fulham)
Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE LOWDOWN
Romeo Akbar Walter
Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher
