Australia captain Harry Wilson has warned the British & Irish Lions they are in for a physical battle in Melbourne. Getty Images
Australia captain Harry Wilson has warned the British & Irish Lions they are in for a physical battle in Melbourne. Getty Images
Australia captain Harry Wilson has warned the British & Irish Lions they are in for a physical battle in Melbourne. Getty Images
Australia captain Harry Wilson has warned the British & Irish Lions they are in for a physical battle in Melbourne. Getty Images

Wilson promises Wallabies will ‘throw bodies around’ in must-win Lions Test


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Wallabies captain Harry Wilson has promised a brutal response when Australia meet the British & Irish Lions in a do-or-die second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday.

Trailing 1-0 in the three-match series following last week’s 27-19 defeat in Brisbane, the Wallabies know another loss would seal the series for Andy Farrell’s side. But Wilson believes his side are ready to fight fire with fire.

“We want to go out there and impose ourselves physically,” said the back-rower on Friday. “We want to back our skills, start fast and, with a 6-2 bench, it means another person gets to go off the field. So there’s more reason to throw your body around, knowing there’s quality players ready to come in and finish strong.”

Australia were bullied at the breakdown and in the collisions in Brisbane, but welcome a trio of key forwards back into the starting side. Will Skelton and Rob Valetini return from injury to bolster the tight five and back row respectively, while hooker Dave Porecki has been cleared to play following a concussion.

Coach Joe Schmidt has signalled his intent by opting for six forwards on the bench in place of the traditional 5-3 split, anticipating a wet and bruising battle at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

“A lot of us watched the Pasifika and First Nations XV earlier this week,” added Wilson, referring to the scratch side that pushed the Lions in a bruising midweek fixture. “They went after them with line speed, big hits, and plenty of niggle. It was a great blueprint of how to physically dominate them.”

Wilson’s comments echoed those of Schmidt, who said on Thursday: “We don’t want to be nice, and we don’t want to be submissive.”

Despite the Brisbane defeat, Wilson said the squad had taken belief from their second-half performance, where they narrowed a 24-5 deficit and finished the stronger of the two sides.

“We do feel like we’re improving every week,” said Wilson. “We got away with one against Fiji, but in that first Test, once we had a bit of possession and territory and started playing our sort of footy, we really built into the game.

“We take a lot of confidence from that second half, and we know we’ll need to be even better on Saturday.”

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World Series: South Africa
Women’s World Series: Australia
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Gulf Men’s Social: Mediclinic Barrelhouse Warriors
Gulf Vets: Jebel Ali Dragons Veterans
Gulf Women: Dubai Sports City Eagles
Gulf Under 19: British School Al Khubairat
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A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000. 

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Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.

Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.

The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.

The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.

Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.

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The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

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Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
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  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

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  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
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Updated: July 25, 2025, 3:35 AM