The NSW Waratahs face the ultimate dilemma in their final Super Rugby clash of the regular season against the Auckland Blues at Eden Park, knowing they not only need to win, but win well to ensure themselves of advancing to the play-offs.
The problem, however, is if they play the game chasing the bonus point, they could well end up on the wrong end of a big defeat, as the ACT Brumbies found out last week in Auckland.
“To go there with a mindset that we’re just going to play helter-skelter rugby would be foolish,” Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.
“Our first priority is to win the game and then search for that bonus point.”
The message should resonate.
The Waratahs are second in the Australian conference, locked on 39 points, the same as the Brumbies, who face the last-placed Western Force in Canberra on Saturday.
Only one of the two sides will advance to the quarter-finals as the winner of the Australian conference with the Waikato Chiefs (51), Canterbury Crusaders (50), Otago Highlanders (48) and Wellington Hurricanes (48) having locked up four of the five places available to the Australasian group.
Despite Gibson’s reservations, the Waratahs have looked the most dangerous of the five Australian teams in Super Rugby this season, with their players looking to put teammates into space by off-loading in the tackle.
That approach had paid some dividends for the 2014 champions, notably a 45-25 victory over the Waikato Chiefs before the June international break, though flyhalf Bernard Foley was aware they needed to be more effective.
“There’s a couple of times we’ve probably let teams off the hook by playing that sort of style,” Foley told reporters.
“But it’s something we’ve been persisting with and it’s something we’re not going to shy away from.”
Foley, however, was well aware that if they did not get their defensive pattern and structures right they could suffer the same fate as the Brumbies, who lost 40-15 against the Blues last week.
“I think the Blues can really feed off the crowd atmosphere, especially when they play an attractive style of rugby,” he added.
“That’s where we’ve talked about our defensive systems and our structures in nullifying their attacking threats and in that regard you take away the crowd.”
The Brumbies will have the luxury of knowing exactly what they need to do when they face the Force about 24 hours after the Waratahs’ game.
They were, however, taking nothing for granted.
“If we don’t turn up especially this weekend it could be the end of it for us,” prop Scott Sio told the Brumbies’ website.
“We’re going to have to make sure that our execution across the board is good.”
While the New Zealand sides have already sealed their play-offs spots, the fact they play each other this weekend will ultimately determine their final finishing places.
The Crusaders host the Hurricanes in Christchurch in the early game on Saturday before the Chiefs travel to Dunedin for their clash against the Highlanders.
The table-topping Golden Lions have already sealed the African group and have rested several players for their trip to Buenos Aires, which could backfire if they don’t secure a win against the Argentina Jaguares.
Any one of the four New Zealand sides could overtake them as top qualifier and secure home advantage for the final.
The Coastal Sharks (39) hold the advantage for the wildcard from the African group as they face the last-placed Japan Sunwolves, though they could still be overtaken by the Blue Bulls (37), who are away to the Central Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
De De Pyaar De
Produced: Luv Films, YRF Films
Directed: Akiv Ali
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Rakul Preet Singh, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jaaved Jaffrey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
THE TWIN BIO
Their favourite city: Dubai
Their favourite food: Khaleeji
Their favourite past-time : walking on the beach
Their favorite quote: ‘we rise by lifting others’ by Robert Ingersoll
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20Tabby%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%20August%202019%3B%20platform%20went%20live%20in%20February%202020%3Cbr%3EFounder%2FCEO%3A%20Hosam%20Arab%2C%20co-founder%3A%20Daniil%20Barkalov%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Payments%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%2040-50%20employees%3Cbr%3EStage%3A%20Series%20A%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Arbor%20Ventures%2C%20Mubadala%20Capital%2C%20Wamda%20Capital%2C%20STV%2C%20Raed%20Ventures%2C%20Global%20Founders%20Capital%2C%20JIMCO%2C%20Global%20Ventures%2C%20Venture%20Souq%2C%20Outliers%20VC%2C%20MSA%20Capital%2C%20HOF%20and%20AB%20Accelerator.%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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
'The Ice Road'
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne
2/5
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
