UAE Rugby finals day
Games being played at The Sevens, Dubai
2pm, UAE Conference final
Dubai Tigers v Al Ain Amblers
4pm, UAE Premiership final
Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons
Rugby in West Asia has always had to cope with transience and impermanence. The two sides that will meet in the final game of the 2018-19 season personify that.
Abu Dhabi Harlequins and Jebel Ali Dragons will each be vying for the UAE Premiership title with different coaches to those who were in charge as recently as halfway through the season.
In Abu Dhabi’s case, they have had to deal with the unexpected departure in January of Mike McFarlane, the highly-successful coach who oversaw them winning every trophy on offer in domestic rugby two seasons ago.
At around the same time, surely the most high-profile figure ever to have held any sort of office in the game in this part of the world, the Wales great Mike Phillips, stepped away from his role as coach of Dragons.
Harlequins, who finished the regular season top of the points table and 19 points clear of Dragons, are making a joke of the idea of flux within the domestic game.
They will be without their influential kicker and captain Luke Stevenson, as he has had to travel to Europe. They will be led instead by prop Chris Jones-Griffiths, the most capped UAE international, who has spent the past two seasons attempting to retire from the game, only to keep answering the regular calls for help from his club.
Even their coach, Alistair Thompson, attempted to step away from the game – again – last summer, only to return to fill the breach when McFarlane left.
“These guys are brilliant to work with,” Thompson, a former Harlequins and UAE captain, said.
“Mike McFarlane did a brilliant job. He was at the helm, and I slipped away this year, but I didn’t want to see the boys without a coach.
“I came back in when Mike had to depart, and it has been great. The competitive juices do flow, and mentally I would still love to play, but physically my body can’t take it.
“It is a young man’s game out here now. There are big physical players out there that have good skills. It is a tough competition.”
Coincidentally, Thompson once played in the same team as his opposite number this Friday, Dragons coach Colin Philips, when both were playing back in their native Scotland.
While Thompson has been a long-term resident of the UAE, Philips arrived last October. Having assisted with coaching in a back-up role soon after he arrived, he stepped up to take the reins of the Dragons first XV when his near-namesake Phillips’ other commitments became too much for him to carry on as coach.
“It’s been a greater role than I planned initially, but it’s been an easy transition as the players just get on with it, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it,” Philips said.
“I enjoyed working alongside Mike, he has the sort of rugby experience I will never get. Hopefully as a club we can keep him involved going forward, because you can’t buy that sort of experience.”
For their part, Dragons will also be without a number of key figures for the final. Ross Samson, who captained them to the West Asia title last season, suffered a leg injury in the semi-final win over Dubai Exiles, while Jonny Macdonald, who shelved his own retirement midway through this season, also misses out.
Matt Henry, the back-rower, should be fit to start despite injuring his hand in the 28-24 win over Exiles.
“The semi-final was a brutal affair,” Philips said. “It is the end of a long season. We had a short, sharp training session on Wednesday after analysis on Monday night, so the boys are pretty fresh.
“We are disappointed not to have Ross. He has put in a massive shift on and off the pitch. But the guys are all pretty motivated and looking forward to an important game of rugby.”
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Scoreline
Syria 1-1 Australia
Syria Al Somah 85'
Australia Kruse 40'
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
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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)
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
WRESTLING HIGHLIGHTS
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UAE Rugby finals day
Games being played at The Sevens, Dubai
2pm, UAE Conference final
Dubai Tigers v Al Ain Amblers
4pm, UAE Premiership final
Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons
