The UAE's under 18 boys rugby sevens international side retained their Asian crown in Malaysia this weekend, going through the 2024 tournament unbeaten. Remarkably, UAE scored more than 200 points in five games, while also completing five defensive shutouts.
After a strong performance in the pool stage at Stadium Ragbi in Johor Bahru, the UAE faced Hong Kong China in the Asia Rugby Emirates U18 Boys final, who could not match the UAE's intensity or desire.
The 43-0 margin of victory did not flatter an impressive and ruthlessly efficient UAE side, who ran up a total of 221 unanswered points in their five matches in typically hot and humid Malaysian conditions.
The UAE's Nicholas Fritz finished as the tournament's top scorer with six tries and 11 conversions.
The draw for the Asia Rugby Boys U18 Sevens had put the UAE in the same pool as Saudi Arabia, Singapore, India and Malaysia.
The U18s swatted aside their Gulf neighbours Saudi Arabia 57-0, before beating Singapore 24-0 later on day one.
On day two in Johor Bahru, the UAE boys began with a 48-0 victory over Malaysia, before following up with a 49-0 win over India, who had shown flashes of brilliance on day one but faded a little as the tournament progressed.
That result put the UAE into the final against Hong Kong China, who had squeezed Sri Lanka out of top spot in Pool B by securing a big win over Chinese Taipei in their last group game to move into the final on points difference.
UAE coach Andy Jones said the U18 boys team had "delivered the highest standards" of rugby sevens at the tournament to retain their crown.
"Although the high humidity and heavy pitches made conditions difficult, the UAE played with expansive width that challenged their opponents throughout the weekend.”
He said that the UAE’s victory was testament to "outstanding work being done at schools and clubs to nurture talent".
Sri Lanka won the bronze medal match, narrowly defeating hosts Malaysia 17-14.
At last year's championship, the UAE had achieved an historic double victory in Taipei, with both boys and girls teams winning the tournament. There was to be no repeat this year.
The girls lost 15-0 against India in their first group game – the two teams had contested the final last year – before a last gasp try by hosts Malaysia forced a 10-10 draw in their second pool match. UAE girls rounded off day one of the tournament with a rousing 17-12 victory over Thailand.
The UAE girls beat Singapore early on Sunday, but lost their final group game to Hong Kong China and eventually secured fifth place by running up 51 unanswered points in a playoff against Singapore.
Hong Kong China went on to beat Thailand 27-0 to claim the girls continental crown, while Malaysia delighted the home crowd by winning the bronze medal match, with a flowing and industrious 12-0 victory over India.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
Manchester United v Club America
When: Thursday, 9pm Arizona time (Friday UAE, 8am)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Hales' batting career
Tests 11; Runs 573; 100s 0; 50s 5; Avg 27.38; Best 94
ODIs 58; Runs 1,957; 100s 5; 50s 11; Avg 36.24; Best 171
T20s 52; Runs 1,456; 100s 1; 50s 7; Avg 31.65; Best 116 not out
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
Central%20Bank's%20push%20for%20a%20robust%20financial%20infrastructure
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3ECBDC%20real-value%20pilot%20held%20with%20three%20partner%20institutions%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPreparing%20buy%20now%2C%20pay%20later%20regulations%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPreparing%20for%20the%202023%20launch%20of%20the%20domestic%20card%20initiative%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPhase%20one%20of%20the%20Financial%20Infrastructure%20Transformation%20(FiT)%20completed%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
Planes grounded by coronavirus
British Airways: Cancels all direct flights to and from mainland China
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific: Cutting capacity to/from mainland China by 50 per cent from Jan. 30
Chicago-based United Airlines: Reducing flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong
Ai Seoul: Suspended all flights to China
Finnair: Suspending flights to Nanjing and Beijing Daxing until the end of March
Indonesia's Lion Air: Suspending all flights to China from February
South Korea's Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air and Jin Air: Suspend all flights
