Australia coach Michael Cheika has said there is method in the madness of selecting Quade Cooper as his starting fly-half at New Zealand’s Eden Park ground in Auckland on Saturday, where the playmaker’s career was nearly derailed.
Cheika sprung a surprise yesterday with six changes to the Wallabies side that inflicted a rare and emphatic defeat of the All Blacks in Sydney last week.
But it was New Zealand-born Cooper’s reinstatement that caused the biggest waves on social media.
Branded “Public Enemy No 1” during the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand as part of a media-driven campaign to upset the fly-half, Cooper was jeered relentlessly throughout the country in every match he played. He appeared shell-shocked at Eden Park in the semi-final demolition by the All Blacks, enduring a poor game to the delight of the sell-out crowd.
Days later, he suffered a sickening knee injury in the bronze medal play-off against Wales at the same ground.
Cooper has struggled against the All Blacks since and last month revealed his sensitivity to criticism from New Zealand media when he posted an expletive-filled rant on Twitter in response to some negative reporting.
With Australia holding a genuine chance of winning the Bledisloe Cup, the annual trophy contested between the nations, the selection has been seen as both a huge vote of confidence and a potentially calamitous gamble for both player and team.
Cooper was underwhelming in the Rugby Championship matches against South Africa and Argentina and left out of the matchday 23 for the Sydney win over the All Blacks last Saturday.
Many felt utility back Matt Toomua had a greater claim to replace Bernard Foley in the No 10 shirt after his bright cameo off the bench in Sydney. Toomua will instead start at inside centre.
Chieka said he believed in Cooper “as a person and as a player ... From before we played the first game I thought I’d have a look at doing one thing in Sydney and another thing in Auckland.
“Just because we won in Sydney, I didn’t want to change my approach ... I just wanted to have a look at that combination of Cooper and Toomua playing together.
“The game changes every week. I think if we just stay the same all the time, we’ll become real easy to pick, perhaps.”
Cheika has certainly kept his opponents guessing by changing his key combinations week by week in the Wallabies’ perfect 3-0 start to the season.
The coach has also won praise for turning the bench into a potent weapon five weeks out from the World Cup, with the reserves ensuring the team has finished full of running.
Cooper will nonetheless face the ultimate test of nerves in the pressure-cooker of Eden Park, where a frosty reception can be guaranteed for a player branded a “cheap shot-artist” in New Zealand for a couple of on-field clashes with All Blacks captain Richie McCaw a few years ago.
Cheika’s gamble will no doubt be hailed a masterstroke if Cooper puts in a half-decent game and the Wallabies clinch their first win over the hosts at Eden Park in 29 years.
A crushing loss will be a bad blow for the Wallabies’ confidence ahead of the Rugby World Cup, due to start in England next month, however, and ensure the ghosts of Eden Park haunt the fly-half for at least another year.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Al Jazira's foreign quartet for 2017/18
Romarinho, Brazil
Lassana Diarra, France
Sardor Rashidov, Uzbekistan
Mbark Boussoufa, Morocco
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Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80
Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Ahmed Raza
UAE cricket captain
Age: 31
Born: Sharjah
Role: Left-arm spinner
One-day internationals: 31 matches, 35 wickets, average 31.4, economy rate 3.95
T20 internationals: 41 matches, 29 wickets, average 30.3, economy rate 6.28
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
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The Gandhi Murder
- 71 - Years since the death of MK Gandhi, also christened India's Father of the Nation
- 34 - Nationalities featured in the film The Gandhi Murder
- 7 - million dollars, the film's budget
Leaderboard
63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)
66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)
67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
FIXTURES
Nov 04-05: v Western Australia XI, Perth
Nov 08-11: v Cricket Australia XI, Adelaide
Nov 15-18 v Cricket Australia XI, Townsville (d/n)
Nov 23-27: 1ST TEST v AUSTRALIA, Brisbane
Dec 02-06: 2ND TEST v AUSTRALIA, Adelaide (d/n)
Dec 09-10: v Cricket Australia XI, Perth
Dec 14-18: 3RD TEST v AUSTRALIA, Perth
Dec 26-30 4TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Melbourne
Jan 04-08: 5TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Sydney
Note: d/n = day/night
