AL AIN // A Fijian schoolboy could be set to debut in senior men’s rugby at age 16, so long as he can persuade his mother to let him.
Jerry Kilicanasau is already part of the plans of the Al Ain Amblers first XV, who are well aware of his “exceptional skills” from his time growing up in their age-group sides.
It is just a matter of time before his senior team debut, either when he turns 17 on December 20 or if he can get his mother, Aditau, to succumb – whichever happens soonest.
Aditau is understandably cautious. She works as an operating-theatre nurse at Twam Hospital, which neighbours the Amblers home games, and she does not want to be treating her son there on game day.
But she knows he will have a more than adequate minder close at hand. The teenager could form part of the same backline as his father, Jerry Sr, in the Amblers side.
“I’m always ready; I’m an islander,” Jerry Jr says. “All islanders are ready to play men’s rugby straight away.”
He hopes he can play before his 17th birthday. “I want to see if I can this weekend”, when Al Ain’s two teams face each other on the opening day of the UAE Conference campaign.
Given that he idolises two greats of the Dubai Sevens, Waisale Serevi and William Ryder, the schoolboy’s fearlessness might be well-placed.
If he plays anything like those two Flying Fijians – and his game is based on their fleet-footed, side-stepping style – the senior men of domestic rugby will not be able to lay a finger on him, anyway.
“He is fast. I haven’t been able to catch him for a while,” says Jerry Sr, who works as a driver having moved to the Garden City from Suva 10 years ago.
“He has been training with us, with the men, and he can take the tackles. I’m not worried, but my wife is worried.”
The father-son combination are part of an Amblers side looking to go one better than last year’s runners-up finish in the Conference.
“Jerry Jr has exceptional skills, and his father also made the first team after selections from more than 55 players in preseason training,” said Jody Haddow, the Amblers’ club captain.
pradley@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @SprtNationalUAE
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
more from Janine di Giovanni
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
Apple%20Mac%20through%20the%20years
%3Cp%3E1984%20-%20Apple%20unveiled%20the%20Macintosh%20on%20January%2024%3Cbr%3E1985%20-%20Steve%20Jobs%20departed%20from%20Apple%20and%20established%20NeXT%3Cbr%3E1986%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20Macintosh%20Plus%2C%20featuring%20enhanced%20memory%3Cbr%3E1987%20-%20Apple%20launched%20the%20Macintosh%20II%2C%20equipped%20with%20colour%20capabilities%3Cbr%3E1989%20-%20The%20widely%20acclaimed%20Macintosh%20SE%2F30%20made%20its%20debut%3Cbr%3E1994%20-%20Apple%20presented%20the%20Power%20Macintosh%3Cbr%3E1996%20-%20The%20Macintosh%20System%20Software%20OS%20underwent%20a%20rebranding%20as%20Mac%20OS%3Cbr%3E2001%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20Mac%20OS%20X%2C%20marrying%20Unix%20stability%20with%20a%20user-friendly%20interface%3Cbr%3E2006%20-%20Apple%20adopted%20Intel%20processors%20in%20MacBook%20Pro%20laptops%3Cbr%3E2008%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20MacBook%20Air%2C%20a%20lightweight%20laptop%3Cbr%3E2012%20-%20Apple%20launched%20the%20MacBook%20Pro%20with%20a%20retina%20display%3Cbr%3E2016%20-%20The%20Mac%20operating%20system%20underwent%20rebranding%20as%20macOS%3Cbr%3E2020%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20M1%20chip%20for%20Macs%2C%20combining%20high%20performance%20and%20energy%20efficiency%3Cbr%3E2022%20-%20The%20M2%20chip%20was%20announced%3Cbr%3E2023%20-The%20M3%20line-up%20of%20chip%20was%20announced%20to%20improve%20performance%20and%20add%20new%20capabilities%20for%20Mac.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More on animal trafficking
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
The years Ramadan fell in May
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
