Perpignan and Toulon, the French Top 14 sides, will make history on Saturday night by playing the first Heineken Cup rugby match to take place in Barcelona's Olympic Stadium.
Perpignan have long held an ambition to play a European knockout fixture in the Catalonian capital and the match in the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys will be the 89th venue to host Heineken Cup rugby.
The Spanish city is the spiritual and cultural heart of Catalonia, while Perpignan lies at the centre of northern Catalonia across the border. The blood red and golden hues of the club's team strip resonate strongly with their Spanish brothers — they are the colours of the Catalonian flag, known as La Senyera, and feature on the Barcelona club badge.
Barcelona is known the world over for its football team — they are 20 times champions of Spain and three-times Champions League winners after all — and yet despite four Heineken Cup knockout appearances and seven Top 14 titles Perpignan's rugby side are a relatively unknown quantity there. Saturday's clash aims to cement ties not only between the two symbolic Catalonian cities, but also the two clubs that represent the proud Catalonian nation in each sport.
"Rugby takes place throughout the world, but in Catalonia it is a minority sport," said Ignasi Planas, the President of the Catalan Rugby Federation. "The concept of a great Catalonian rugby club in the image of Barça in soccer is the dream from now on."
The capacity at Perpignan's Stade Aimé Giral is a modest 14,377, so moving to the 55,000-capacity Olympic Stadium not only makes cultural sense but the finance stacks up.
To add extra frisson to the fixture Toulon have won both encounters between the two sides this season, including the moved match to Marseille's atmospheric Stade Véledrome. To add insult to injury Toulon occupy seventh place in the Top 14, the spot above Perpignan.
Perry Freshwater, the England prop, moved from Leicester to Perpignan in 2003. Despite playing for the Tigers in two European Cup finals he believes that this encounter will be one of the most explosive
European matches in which he has played during his 50 appearances in the competition.
"This has all the ingredients for being a real firecracker of a game," said Freshwater, who shares the club captaincy with Nicolas Mas.
"It's a massive match not only for the Catalan identity but also for rugby and financially for the club. Barcelona is a major market to tap in to and it's great for rugby to be on such a big stage in a famous football city such as Barcelona. That brings pressure in itself and there will be a lot of expectancy on us to perform."
Perpignan come into the clash on the back of a humbling 25-24 defeat to league leaders Toulouse - only their second loss to the four-times Heineken Cup victors at the Stade Aimé Giral in 11 years - and by moving the fixture to Spain they lose a crucial advantage.
There have been 56 quarter-final matches in the Heineken Cup, and only 13 victories for visiting teams. Of those 13 successes, four of those were in matches moved away from the home side's stadium. What
Perpignan gain in gate revenues and cultural roots by staging this fixture in Barcelona, they could lose face with a defeat.
Toulon have no such worries and travel to Spain having thumped Stade Francais 38-10 last weekend. The victory was marked by the club debut of Gavin Henson, the Wales international, who played outside Jonny Wilkinson. It was a potent combination as Henson set up a try and also scored one.
Wilkinson contributed 18 points in that match. Incredibly it will be the England and British and Irish Lions fly-half's first appearance in a Heineken Cup quarter-final, having played the majority of his club career with relegation-threatened Newcastle.
And according to Joe van Niekerk, the captain of star-studded Toulon, last week's victory is just the tonic his side need before facing up to Perpignan in their new-found Catalan cauldron. "We are highly motivated and the performance against Stade will really help us to prepare," said the former Springbok.
"The atmosphere in Barcelona will be amazing. We will be taking around 6,000 fans with us and they will make enough noise to sound like 10,000. I'm really looking forward to playing in front of a massive crowd, in a great stadium. We will be very focused and anything can happen in a one-off game."
KLOPP AT LIVERPOOL
Years: October 2015 - June 2024
Total games: 491
Win percentage: 60.9%
Major trophies: 6 (Premier League x 1, Champions League x 1, FA Cup x 1, League Cup x 2, Fifa Club World Cup x1)
TECH SPECS: APPLE WATCH SE (second generation)
Display: 40mm, 324 x 394; 44mm, 368 x 448; Retina LTPO OLED, up to 1000 nits; Ion-X glass
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In the box: Watch SE, magnetic-to-USB-C charging cable, band/loop
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Bridgerton season three - part one
Directors: Various
Starring: Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton, Jonathan Bailey
Rating: 3/5
THE SPECS
Battery: 60kW lithium-ion phosphate
Power: Up to 201bhp
0 to 100kph: 7.3 seconds
Range: 418km
Price: From Dh149,900
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Company Profile
Name: HyveGeo
Started: 2023
Founders: Abdulaziz bin Redha, Dr Samsurin Welch, Eva Morales and Dr Harjit Singh
Based: Cambridge and Dubai
Number of employees: 8
Industry: Sustainability & Environment
Funding: $200,000 plus undisclosed grant
Investors: Venture capital and government
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Director: Peyton Reed
Stars: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Jonathan Majors
Rating: 2/5
ILT20 UAE stars
LEADING RUN SCORERS
1 Nicholas Pooran, 261
2 Muhammad Waseem (UAE), 248
3 Chris Lynn, 244
4 Johnson Charles, 232
5 Kusal Perera, 230
BEST BOWLING AVERAGE
(minimum 10 overs bowled)
1 Zuhaib Zubair (UAE), 9 wickets at 12.44
2 Mohammed Rohid (UAE), 7 at 13.00
3 Fazalhaq Farooqi, 17 at 13.05
4 Waqar Salamkheil, 10 at 14.08
5 Aayan Khan (UAE), 4 at 15.50
6 Wanindu Hasaranga, 12 at 16.25
7 Mohammed Jawadullah (UAE), 10 at 17.00
WISH
Directors: Chris Buck, Fawn Veerasunthorn
Stars: Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tudyk
Rating: 3.5/5
2019 ASIAN CUP FINAL
Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Director: Adam Wingard
Starring: Brian Tyree Henry, Rebecca Hall, Dan Stevens
Rating: 4/5
Find the right policy for you
Don’t wait until the week you fly to sign up for insurance – get it when you book your trip. Insurance covers you for cancellation and anything else that can go wrong before you leave.
Some insurers, such as World Nomads, allow you to book once you are travelling – but, as Mr Mohammed found out, pre-existing medical conditions are not covered.
Check your credit card before booking insurance to see if you have any travel insurance as a benefit – most UAE banks, such as Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, have cards that throw in insurance as part of their package. But read the fine print – they may only cover emergencies while you’re travelling, not cancellation before a trip.
Pre-existing medical conditions such as a heart condition, diabetes, epilepsy and even asthma may not be included as standard. Again, check the terms, exclusions and limitations of any insurance carefully.
If you want trip cancellation or curtailment, baggage loss or delay covered, you may need a higher-grade plan, says Ambareen Musa of Souqalmal.com. Decide how much coverage you need for emergency medical expenses or personal liability. Premium insurance packages give up to $1 million (Dh3.7m) in each category, Ms Musa adds.
Don’t wait for days to call your insurer if you need to make a claim. You may be required to notify them within 72 hours. Gather together all receipts, emails and reports to prove that you paid for something, that you didn’t use it and that you did not get reimbursed.
Finally, consider optional extras you may need, says Sarah Pickford of Travel Counsellors, such as a winter sports holiday. Also ensure all individuals can travel independently on that cover, she adds. And remember: “Cheap isn’t necessarily best.”
ANATOMY OF A FALL
Director: Justine Triet
Starring: Sandra Huller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado-Graner
Rating: 5/5
Indika
Developer: 11 Bit Studios
Publisher: Odd Meter
Console: PlayStation 5, PC and Xbox series X/S
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: seven-speed PDK dual clutch automatic
Power: 375bhp
Torque: 520Nm
Price: Dh332,800
On sale: now
The Specs
Lamborghini LM002
Engine: 5.2-litre V12
Power: 450hp at 6,800rpm
Torque: 500Nm at 4,500rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
0-100kph: 9 seconds (approx)
Top speed: 210kph (approx)
Years built: 1986-93
Total vehicles built: 328
Value today: $300,000+
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
RESULT
Bayer Leverkusen 2 Bayern Munich 4
Leverkusen: Alario (9'), Wirtz (89')
Bayern: Coman (27'), Goretzka (42'), Gnabry (45'), Lewandowski (66')
Williams at Wimbledon
Venus Williams - 5 titles (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008)
Serena Williams - 7 titles (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016)
Representing UAE overseas
If Catherine Richards debuts for Wales in the Six Nations, she will be the latest to have made it from the UAE to the top tier of the international game in the oval ball codes.
Seren Gough-Walters (Wales rugby league)
Born in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, and once an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi, she debuted for Wales in rugby league in 2021.
Sophie Shams (England sevens)
With an Emirati father and English mother, Shams excelled at rugby at school in Dubai, and went on to represent England on the sevens circuit.
Fiona Reidy (Ireland)
Made her Test rugby bow for Ireland against England in 2015, having played for four years in the capital with Abu Dhabi Harlequins previously.
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
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