Not too long ago, Charlie Taylor was looking round at Dubai Sharks training and counting the number of players. He would reach three, and that would be it.
Even as recently as last September, when the club was on to its fourth new home venue in as many seasons, things did not always run smooth.
The Sharks had to call in a favour from their sponsors for a loan of some temporary, solar-panelled floodlights so they could play and train out of the heat of the day.
Memories of which must make the events of the past few weeks seem even more surreal than they already are.
“I’ve had a lot of pinch-myself moments lately,” said Taylor, the chairman of the Sharks, a community rugby club whose men’s side play in the UAE Division 1.
“I have been sat at home having a barbecue with friends and I’ve had to say, ‘Oh, sorry guys, got to take this call, it’s Dylan Hartley.’ They told me to shut up.”
Yeah, right. Just the 97-cap former England captain on the blower. Ringing to discuss details of his appointment as director of rugby at the Sharks, no doubt. Of course he was.
In actual fact, he was. On Tuesday evening, it was confirmed Hartley will be relocating from the UK to Dubai, where he will juggle his role with the Sharks with a job in business development with Access Hire Middle East – the equipment rental company who do that decent line in floodlights.
The 400 or so playing members at the club – as well as the wider rugby community in the Middle East – will be abuzz at the news. But they are not the only ones.
“I throw myself back to when I was a kid, and when a local rugby player for a local team would come along, how excited I got as a kid,” Hartley, 36, said.
“When you play the game for as long as I did, to the level I did, you forget that impact. I can understand if I look at it from a bird’s eye view, it is exciting news for a grassroots club.
“That is brilliant. But for me, it is equally exciting. Although I have been in and around it, I have never been in the role that I am going into.
“You know what? You can talk about these things, or you can get on with it and get stuck in. For me, there is no better time than now.”
Hartley has had a packed few days in Dubai, beginning with the visa process and looking for a place for him and his young family to live.
He has long been interested in a move to the city. When breaks in his playing career with Northampton Saints and England permitted it, he was a regular holidaymaker in Dubai.
Discussions over a role with the Sharks started when he came to the Dubai Sevens last winter to coach the Bali Legends side in the International Vets competition. Now it has been finalised, he cannot wait to get started.
“Rugby kept me where I was in England, whereas now I have the opportunity to travel with my experience in rugby, which has opened up this door,” Hartley said. “The draw for me, with a young family, is to come and experience a completely different culture altogether.
“It is the hardest thing about transitioning from sport. You leave behind 20 years of experience, which I don’t want to do. The stars have aligned with the Sharks giving me the opportunity to use that experience. Hopefully it works. If I can add something, then the past 20 years haven’t been a waste.”
Since retiring from playing in 2019, Hartley has carved out a reputation as a straight-talking, entertaining and enlightening pundit on the game.
A career in the media would be a given for a former player with such a glowing CV, who captained England 29 times and maintained an 85 per cent win rate while doing so. He says he hopes to maintain his media commitments back in the UK, but is committed to his new challenge in the UAE.
“I’m not going to be one of those stories where there is a shortage of players and the coach has to dust off his boots,” he said. “If you see me touchline, you will see the limp on my gait is terrible.
“It is a broader workload where I will be spending my time. A rugby club has a lot of roles. Whilst I am not a first-team coach, or a forwards coach, I will be adding where I can and assisting our coaching team.
“I am not there to tell them what to do. I am there to assist them. Then it is about looking at the overall picture.”
The Sharks began in 2006. Initially known as the Arabian Potbellies, they were renamed in 2011, and have had a nomadic and occasionally troubled existence for much of the time since.
By 2017 they had three men’s teams, two women’s teams, and an association with the Warriors mini and youth section. The loss of their home ground at Dubai Sports City that summer, though, led to a player drain that almost led the club to fold.
They were revived initially by a recruitment drive at around the time of the 2019 World Cup, as well as by way of their response to the climate created by Covid.
“People were losing their jobs, there were lots of questions, and our community became a place for people to help each other out,” Taylor said.
“It really helped with the vibe of the club. We played a season of 10s, which was difficult for us, but the momentum just continued.”
The club’s revival has reached the point where – barely believably – they can appoint someone of Hartley’s standing to oversee its further expansion.
“Midway through last season we knew we needed to do something different to help grow those numbers, but also help the coaches we also had on board,” said Mike Quinn, the club’s president.
“Having someone like Dylan will be an amazing thing to help with that. He is going to be instrumental in our recruiting of coaches and players, and will put in place the strategy for how we want our teams to play, all the way from Under 4s to our first team.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
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)
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Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Keita 5', Firmino 26'
Porto 0
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The specs: 2018 GMC Terrain
Price, base / as tested: Dh94,600 / Dh159,700
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Power: 252hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 353Nm @ 2,500rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.4L / 100km
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
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LOS ANGELES GALAXY 2 MANCHESTER UNITED 5
Galaxy: Dos Santos (79', 88')
United: Rashford (2', 20'), Fellaini (26'), Mkhitaryan (67'), Martial (72')
How%20champions%20are%20made
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EDiet%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E7am%20-%20Protein%20shake%20with%20oats%20and%20fruits%0D%3Cbr%3E10am%20-%205-6%20egg%20whites%0D%3Cbr%3E1pm%20-%20White%20rice%20or%20chapati%20(Indian%20bread)%20with%20chicken%0D%3Cbr%3E4pm%20-%20Dry%20fruits%20%0D%3Cbr%3E7.30pm%20-%20Pre%20workout%20meal%20%E2%80%93%20grilled%20fish%20or%20chicken%20with%20veggies%20and%20fruits%0D%3Cbr%3E8.30pm%20to%20midnight%20workout%0D%3Cbr%3E12.30am%20%E2%80%93%20Protein%20shake%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20intake%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204000-4500%20calories%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESaidu%E2%80%99s%20weight%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20110%20kg%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStats%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Biceps%2019%20inches.%20Forearms%2018%20inches%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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.
The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela
Edited by Sahm Venter
Published by Liveright
THE DETAILS
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Director: Ron Howard
2/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
