Dubai College might have been forgiven for feeling they had a fair bit to live up to when they made their debut at the Gulf Under 19 Girls tournament this weekend.
After all, their school’s male side are the most successful side in the history of the Boys equivalent at the Emirates Dubai Sevens.
They need not have worried, though. DC’s girls lived up to expectations in style, claiming their own title at the first attempt with a dominant 33-12 win over Jumeirah English Speaking School in the Pitch 1 final on Friday.
While they were competing as a school for the first time, they were not short of experience of finals on the main field. A number of their players had been part of the Dubai Exiles side which won the title 12 months earlier.
“To be with this team, full of new girls, young girls as well, it was just absolutely amazing to bring home the win for our school on Pitch 1,” Annabelle Garner, the side’s vice-captain, said.
“I started playing rugby four years ago and I have grown to love it. I think it is an amazing sport for girls here.”
Garner, a Qatar-born forward who has played for UAE at U18 and U20 level, said her side were confident ahead of the final.
“Going into any match, you are always wary of any opposition,” Garner said.
“We had played them previously, so we knew how to approach the game. But we play every game with a fresh mindset."
Another of the second-time winners, Femke Soens, was delighted to have led her side to the title, a year on from being part of the champion Exiles side.
Although she is in her last year of school, she is already planning a return to Pitch 1 at The Sevens one day. She hopes to be playing on the World Sevens Series with Belgium in the future.
For now, though, she is happy to have a great memory to take with her from her days as a schoolgirl rugby player.
“Having won it last year, seeing my captain lead the team, it has been my dream to hold the trophy and lead the girls to victory in the same way,” Soens said.
“I have played many other games, including international, but this has been a step up. It was good to be able to give my experience to the girls on the pitch.
“Being at school and with each other five days a week, it is a real honour to be representing our school. I spend most of my time there. It means a lot to win, as it is the first time DC has ever entered.
“To have a first time win, is really an honour.”
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Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
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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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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
