Off-colour England have no one better to look up to than a fit Jonny Wilkinson.
Nov 2003: With 26 seconds of extra-time remaining of the Rugby World Cup final in Sydney and England and Australia locked at 17-17, Jonny Wilkinson receives a pass from his teammate Matt Dawson and steers a dropped-goal between the posts to secure a victory which has passed into sporting folklore. When Jonny comes marching home he discovers he has become a national icon.
Nov 2008: As Wilkinson's injury woes continue unabated - from knee to neck to bicep to groin to kidney and back to knee - England are in the doldrums, thrashed by Australia and humiliated by South Africa in the past two weeks. Now the mighty All-Blacks are due at what was once called 'Fortress Twickenham'. Where is Jonny when the country needs him? Recovering from a dislocated knee that will keep him out of action until the new year.
Given the fact that his body has an unhappy habit of breaking down at the most inopportune moments, it is ironic that Wilkinson is as obsessive about his health, fitness and diet as he is about his peculiar art of penalties and dropped-goals. Here is a man who is wont to breakfast on an eight-egg 'omelette' made without the yolks - "That's the thing about food. The bit that makes it fantastic is the bit that's bad for you."
When he made his international return in Feb 2007 having been missing from the England XV since his World Cup final heroics 1,169 days earlier, Wilkinson scored a Calcutta Cup record of 27 points against Scotland.
As shy and modest as he is talented, however, he played down his 'talisman' role. "People still seem to take an interest in me which is very nice of them but leaves me thinking 'why are they so interested?' I like to think everything in life is earned and whereas I'd earned a certain amount in my career up to the 2003 World Cup, a part of me believes I simply don't deserve this kind of attention.
"The nicest thing about a team game like rugby is earning the respect of your teammates and that's what I miss most when on the sidelines; it's why I play the game, to win things certainly but also to win respect."
But surely, you might ask, having kicked his way into legend, Wilkinson should take that respect for granted? "No way. I feel I need to win it more so than ever."
Although England's director of rugby, Rob Andrew, is understandably impatient to see Wilkinson come to the aid of his beleaguered side, he also believes that being out of the public gaze has been good for the player as a person if not an athlete.
"It's difficult to fully realise just how big Jonny is - not only in England, but in France, New Zealand, everywhere they play rugby. When the whole 'Bigger than Beckham' thing was going on, he didn't know how to cope with it at all at times. He doesn't particularly like being the centre of attention."
But has the man himself enjoyed being Jonny Anonymous all these months? "No I haven't. After my original neck injury a lot of people told me they reckoned it was the best thing that could have happened as it gave me time to come down to earth after the World Cup. I probably agreed with them because I did need time just to be by myself.
"When I suffered my second injury, people said that was good, too, which I pretty much disagreed with. And when they were still insisting 'that's great you've had another injury' after No 3, I was struggling to find any reason how my injured knee could possibly profit me. By that time I was ready to inflict some serious physical damage on them."
sports@thenational.ae
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.
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20NOTHING%20PHONE%20(2)
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Brief scores:
Toss: Kerala Knights, opted to fielf
Pakhtoons 109-5 (10 ov)
Fletcher 32; Lamichhane 3-17
Kerala Knights 110-2 (7.5 ov)
Morgan 46 not out, Stirling 40
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Company%20Profile
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Company%20profile
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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
Results:
CSIL 2-star 145cm One Round with Jump-Off
1. Alice Debany Clero (USA) on Amareusa S 38.83 seconds
2. Anikka Sande (NOR) For Cash 2 39.09
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) Cash Up 39.42
4. Nadia Taryam (UAE) Askaria 3 39.63
5. Miriam Schneider (GER) Fidelius G 47.74
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
'Cheb%20Khaled'
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Profile Periscope Media
Founder: Smeetha Ghosh, one co-founder (anonymous)
Launch year: 2020
Employees: four – plans to add another 10 by July 2021
Financing stage: $250,000 bootstrap funding, approaching VC firms this year
Investors: Co-founders
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Company%20Profile
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Fines for littering
In Dubai:
Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro
Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle
In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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