SYDNEY // Tomorrow when the Wallabies and All Blacks face off for their semi-final game at Eden Park in Auckland, there will be war cries from the stands with supporters baying for the blood of their rivals.
There is no denying rugby followers on both sides of the Tasman Sea are zealots. But that certainly doesn't mean that New Zealanders hate Australians or vice versa.
That some Kiwis, including an MP, reportedly showed their crass side by making rude jibes to Australian supporters early in the series, displeased most New Zealanders.
They shared their shame on radio, in blogs and in other media.
The mayor of Nelson, Aldo Miccio, who is married to an Australian, was so incensed by the behaviour, he declared "Hug an Aussie Day" when the Wallabies came to town to play the Russians.
As long as anyone can remember, New Zealanders and Australians have been winding each other up - and not just on the sports field.
They bicker about accents, expressions, claims over who has the best race horse (Phar Lap was born in New Zealand), the greatest heroes (Kiwi, Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to climb Mt Everest), the most famous celebrities (Australian actors Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett and Hugh Jackson versus Sir Peter Jackson, who won 11 Academy Awards for the third of his Lord of the Rings trilogy), the best food, wine, airline, tourism attractions and so on.
The two countries also spar about who invented a sugary, white meringue confection called pavlova.
Most see this rivalry for what it is - a bit of friendly goading, competitiveness between two countries that are really more the same than different.
Usually it is tit for tat, although New Zealanders have become somewhat jaded over the endless sheep jokes dished out to them by Australians. Australians also consider it fair game to pick on the soft vowels of a Kiwi accent, even though they never can correctly wrap their tongues around the way a New Zealander says fish and chips.
Unfortunately action and reaction can go awry at times. What New Zealanders are objecting to in this Rugby World Cup appears to be arrogance from the Australian team. It could be the idle bragging by Australians of New Zealand never having won a Rugby World Cup since the inaugural event in 1987. Australia has won it twice.
There is irony that the Wallabies look for guidance from one of New Zealand's beloved rugby sons - their coach Robbie Deans.
Both countries snatch players from each other for all manner of sports.
When New Zealand's Warriors team ended up in the National Rugby League grand final in Australia recently, many Australians supported the team in preference to the unpopular Manly's Sea Eagles, raising eyebrows among expats.
That nearly 600,000 Kiwis have made their home in the so-called lucky country of Australia (32,600 in the past year) shows New Zealand's love for Australia - or at least its prospects of a more affluent lifestyle.
Citizens can live freely in each other's countries. There is a free trade agreement which nurtures each other's markets - except a continued resistance to New Zealand apples by Australian producers.
Aussies and Kiwis have fought side by side at war and patriotically remember this bond each year in ceremonies.
The highest paid executive in Australia, Commonwealth Bank's outgoing chief executive Sir Ralph Norris, is a Kiwi. The Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson's successful lingerie brand, Bendon, is a New Zealand company.
The countries and its people are intertwined on many fronts. Between 210 million and 500 million years ago, both countries were one as Gondwanaland before tectonic plates split them apart and put the Tasman Sea between them.
Every time there is an earthquake in New Zealand - frequently these days - New Zealand inches a few centimetres closer to Australia.
What would really make the ground move for New Zealanders now is not only a win against Australia in the semis but a grand final against France should France beat Wales in its semi-final. After the French booted the All Blacks out of the last Rugby World Cup in the quarter finals such victory would be, as we like to say, "as sweet as".
Denise McNabb is a New Zealand freelance writer living in Sydney
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TEST SQUADS
Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed.
Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson and Jackson Bird.
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The years Ramadan fell in May
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final second leg:
Juventus 1 Ajax 2
Ajax advance 3-2 on aggregate
The squad traveling to Brazil:
Faisal Al Ketbi, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Khalfan Humaid Balhol, Khalifa Saeed Al Suwaidi, Mubarak Basharhil, Obaid Salem Al Nuaimi, Saeed Juma Al Mazrouei, Saoud Abdulla Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Zayed Saif Al Mansoori, Saaid Haj Hamdou, Hamad Saeed Al Nuaimi. Coaches Roberto Lima and Alex Paz.
Day 2, stumps
Pakistan 482
Australia 30/0 (13 ov)
Australia trail by 452 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the innings
Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Kashima Antlers 3 (Nagaki 49’, Serginho 69’, Abe 84’)
Guadalajara 2 (Zaldivar 03’, Pulido 90')
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
MATCH INFO
Kolkata Knight Riders 245/6 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 214/8 (20 ovs)
Kolkata won by 31 runs
Draw:
Group A: Egypt, DR Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Group B: Nigeria, Guinea, Madagascar, Burundi
Group C: Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania
Group D: Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Namibia
Group E: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Angola
Group F: Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau
Brief scores:
Everton 2
Walcott 21', Sigurdsson 51'
Tottenham 6
Son 27', 61', Alli 35', Kane 42', 74', Eriksen 48'
Man of the Match: Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur)
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SHOW COURTS ORDER OF PLAY
Wimbledon order of play on Saturday, July 8
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Centre Court (4pm)
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) v Timea Bacsinszky (19)
Ernests Gulbis v Novak Djokovic (2)
Mischa Zverev (27) v Roger Federer (3)
Court 1 (4pm)
Milos Raonic (6) v Albert Ramos-Vinolas (25)
Anett Kontaveit v Caroline Wozniacki (5)
Dominic Thiem (8) v Jared Donaldson
Court 2 (2.30pm)
Sorana Cirstea v Garbine Muguruza (14)
To finish: Sam Querrey (24) leads Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (12) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6, 1-6, 6-5
Angelique Kerber (1) v Shelby Rogers
Sebastian Ofner v Alexander Zverev (10)
Court 3 (2.30pm)
Grigor Dimitrov (13) v Dudi Sela
Alison Riske v Coco Vandeweghe (24)
David Ferrer v Tomas Berdych (11)
Court 12 (2.30pm)
Polona Hercog v Svetlana Kuznetsova (7)
Gael Monfils (15) v Adrian Mannarino
Court 18 (2.30pm)
Magdalena Rybarikova v Lesia Tsurenko
Petra Martic v Zarina Diyas
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
