As against-the-odds sporting narratives go, the UAE's task this evening against Japan, Asia's one great rugby superpower, is just as great as any faced by Rocky Balboa in the films of the same name.
Happily for the national team, some of their players have spent the preceding weeks in the HSBC Asian Five Nations doing all they can to get into character.
With a shaved head, a broken nose and a shiner of a black-eye, Chris Jones-Griffiths was the embodiment of the UAE's indomitable team spirit in the opening two matches.
Having been without a game last week, the bruises have started to fade, but the Abu Dhabi Harlequins prop is willing to do it all over again for the cause today.
"It happened in the first ruck of the first game of the A5N [Asian Five Nations]," Jones-Griffiths, 30, a quantity surveyor from north Wales, said of the injuries incurred in the opening draw in Sri Lanka. "I threw myself in blind, and I just recall a sharp pain to the side of my cheek.
"It swelled up completely so I basically had a golf ball on the side of my face. The physio came on, put a blob of Vaseline on the side of my face, and I thought, 'There is no way I am going off here.'
"That spurred me on to get more physical with the Sri Lankans, then 20 minutes later I broke my nose in another collision. By the end of the game I resembled Sly [Sylvester]Stallone in Rocky. It has more or less cleared up now, but if it happens again [today], so be it. I will take the punishment for the win."
Over the course of the opening two matches against the Sri Lankans and then Kazakahstan - after which the UAE remain undefeated - Jones-Griffiths has been outstanding.
So good was he on a quagmire field in Colombo, he was picked out for special praise by Bruce Birtwistle, the head coach, who usually prefers to focus on the collective rather than individual endeavours.
"Chris just had an absolute storming game," Birtwistle said, citing his 16 carries - "all but one of them going forward" - as evidence of his fine work in the loose.
"It is not very often that I will walk into a changing room and single somebody out, but his performance was quite superb, especially in those conditions."
The numbers are more indicative of a loose-forward than a front row, which is perhaps not surprising given Jones-Griffiths has only moved to prop very recently.
He arrived in Abu Dhabi three-and-a-half years ago as a back-rower, but the city's club were well stocked in that position, prompting him to move forward in the pack in search of game time.
He only finally gave in to the inevitable and agreed to be a full-time front-rower in January this year.
His success in the position for the UAE so far has been remarkable, given his inexperience. As a marker of how far he has come, his opposite number this evening, Kesuke Hatakeyama, will have played more Test matches (16) than Jones-Griffiths has spent weeks in that position.
"He has gone on to do wonderful things for the UAE so far and, as a club, we are so proud of him," Alistair Thompson, the head coach who has overseen his transformation at Abu Dhabi, said.
"Chris was injured for part of the season, and he changed to prop from second row. He only played one or two full games for us in the front row.
"Since he started working with the UAE, he has stayed injury free, worked very hard on his fitness, and he has been like a different player.What he lacks in experience he will more than make up for in what he is willing to give for the team."
Jones-Griffiths's mother, father and brother have decided to travel from their native Anglesey to the UAE to watch the latest edition of his unlikely bloom as an international rugby player.
"When I came out here, my body was battered and I was very close to just throwing the towel in and giving the game up completely," Jones-Griffiths said.
"I arrived in Abu Dhabi, and realised that the best way to get to know people is to join the local rugby club. Within a couple of weeks I was running out in the Gulf Cup semi-final in Doha.
"At that point in time I had no aspirations for playing international rugby, but it is something that has happened very quickly over the last six months. It is fantastic."
See a video of the UAE team in training
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
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
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
