Rugby, it used to be said, was "a thug's game played by gentlemen" whereas football was "a gentleman's game played by thugs." This always struck me as a fairly dodgy premise, and in this era of ultra-professionalism I think it is one we can ditch once and for all.
There are opportunities for gentlemanly behaviour in both sports, and they are just as likely to be taken in football as in rugby.
Believe it or not, every week you see footballers help an opponent to his feet without giving him a crafty kick or an earful of abuse. At the same time, under cover of a ruck, or in the sanctity of a tackle, all manner of dark deeds take place on the rugby field.
Rugby's problem is that it offers infinitely more possibilities for skulduggery than football, an issue not properly addressed when the game turned professional.
The Bloodgate scandal was confirmation, if needed, that the gentlemanly days had passed, and more effective policing of the combat was needed - a view reinforced by the epidemic of injuries crippling the English game.
When England coach Martin Johnson announced his squad to face Australia next Saturday, he had to do so deprived of at least 26 senior players whom he might have considered. We can probably expect more withdrawals from his 32-man squad before the game.
In fact, if you can play at prop and have your boots and an airline ticket handy, make sure Johnson has your number, and stay close to the phone. Wales and New Zealand are similarly afflicted.
Without analysing injuries, it is clear, just as American football discovered some years ago, games could be won by stopping playmakers by whatever means possible within the rules of the game, so rugby is concentrating on defence more than ever before.
Wrestling, martial arts and American football have all been plundered for techniques to make defence in rugby more effective. Rarely do I watch a match in the Heineken Cup or the Guinness Premiership on TV without wincing at some of the tackles.
A major cause of injury, especially the knee and ankle problems so prevalent at the moment, is the collapsed scrum. This arises when one team get the upper hand, and the other see their options as either ceding possession or bringing the whole thing down. Because training regimes these days focus on making players bulky and muscle bound, knees and ankles are vulnerable when this happens.
British Lions doctor James Robson says players spend too much time in the gym, creating more of an athlete than a rugby player. "There is a lot of pressure on young guys to be stronger, faster, and fitter," he says. "But you are trying to create rugby players, not gym bunnies."
The stronger, faster and fitter players, of course, are responsible for the crunching tackles that cause many of the shoulder and head injuries being suffered, and one way of nibbling at the edge of this problem would be to adopt the idea pioneered in Australia's NRL of using two referees.
The game is simply too fast and there is too much going on these days for one pair of eyes. As rugby union has already adopted many of league's better ideas, there should be no objection.
It is important for the future of the game to swing the balance back towards attacking rugby, and to have your best players on the pitch, not on the treatment table.
Where there is life there is hope. Football fans, more than anyone, should remember this,especially the West Ham fan who was watching West Ham v Arsenal on TV last Sunday.
With Arsenal leading 2-0, and playing not just like they were in a different league, but from a different planet, he decided his time may be better spent painting the garden shed.
So depressed was he by the disparity in skill between the two teams, he could not even bear to listen on the radio, and put on his favourite Tony Bennett CD instead. Imagine his surprise to find later that evening that hisbeloved Hammers had defied the odds to pick up the most surprising point of the season. Next time my wife can paint the shed herself.
There are few lonelier quests in sport than trying to achieve fame as a British tennis player. Occasionally, an Andy Murray comes along and stirs interest but, for the publicity they get, most of them may as well be in the witness protection programme.
Congratulations, therefore, to Robert Dee who boasts on his website of his worldwide fame. Dee has achieved this by being wrongly described in hundreds of newspapers as the worst tennis player in the world. Those papers reported that Dee had lost 54 matches in a row, but failed to mention that he had justapplied to International Tennis Federation tournaments.
He had won several other matches in Spain, where he is based. As a result, he has received apologies and damages from countless newspapers. They are listed on his website, together with a photograph of a cheque from the BBC.
Who says British tennis players never win anything?
mkelner@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
List of UAE medal winners
Gold
Faisal Al Ketbi (Open weight and 94kg)
Talib Al Kirbi (69kg)
Omar Al Fadhli (56kg)
Silver
Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Khalfan Belhol (85kg)
Zayed Al Mansoori (62kg)
Mouza Al Shamsi (49kg women)
Bronze
Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi (Open and 94kg)
Saood Al Hammadi (77kg)
Said Al Mazroui (62kg)
Obaid Al Nuaimi (56kg)
Bashayer Al Matrooshi (62kg women)
Reem Abdulkareem (45kg women)
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
WHAT FANS WILL LOVE ABOUT RUSSIA
FANS WILL LOVE
Uber is ridiculously cheap and, as Diego Saez discovered, mush safer. A 45-minute taxi from Pulova airport to Saint Petersburg’s Nevsky Prospect can cost as little as 500 roubles (Dh30).
FANS WILL LOATHE
Uber policy in Russia is that they can start the fare as soon as they arrive at the pick-up point — and oftentimes they start it even before arriving, or worse never arrive yet charge you anyway.
FANS WILL LOVE
It’s amazing how active Russians are on social media and your accounts will surge should you post while in the country. Throw in a few Cyrillic hashtags and watch your account numbers rocket.
FANS WILL LOATHE
With cold soups, bland dumplings and dried fish, Russian cuisine is not to everybody’s tastebuds. Fortunately, there are plenty Georgian restaurants to choose from, which are both excellent and economical.
FANS WILL LOVE
The World Cup will take place during St Petersburg's White Nights Festival, which means perpetual daylight in a city that genuinely never sleeps. (Think toddlers walking the streets with their grandmothers at 4am.)
FANS WILL LOATHE
The walk from Krestovsky Ostrov metro station to Saint Petersburg Arena on a rainy day makes you wonder why some of the $1.7 billion was not spent on a weather-protected walkway.
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Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Company%20profile
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 3.6 V6
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Power: 295bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: Dh155,000
On sale: now
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
