DUBAI // This time last year, Jebel Ali Dragons did their best to hide their highest-value playing cards, ahead of the UAE Premiership final against Abu Dhabi Harlequins.
The side from the capital were unbeaten in the league and strong favourites, but the Dragons fancied their chances – not least because they had a new secret weapon.
Sean Crombie, a former Scotland sevens international, had only recently arrived off the plane from the UK.
He had such a fine pedigree in the game, the Dragons really should have been singing news of their transfer coup from the rooftops.
Instead, they hid the fact he was playing, going so far as to instruct him not to do any media interviews in the lead-up to the final.
The Scottish hooker ended up being the deciding force in the match, and within six months had three major winners medals, as well as 16 tries in 12 matches.
He has been installed as captain for today’s final.
Now the Dragons are trying to retain their Premiership crown against Dubai Hurricanes and this time secrets are at a premium.
The two sides met only recently, in a surprisingly insipid league fixture in testing weather at The Sevens.
Given that the two sets of players, while rivals on the field, are generally good friends off it, they know most things there is to know about each other.
And yet the Dragons will still be able to spring a surprise in personnel this evening.
They are likely to have as many as six changes from the side who beat Hurricanes 19-9 in the league one month ago, including the return of a long-term absentee, Andy Russell.
The UAE back has long been one of the most influential players on the domestic scene – at least when injuries and work commitments have allowed him to play. He has not been spotted on the field yet this season.
The Russell ruse is not through design. The South African flier had been planning to rest until the start of the sevens series as he sought to finally rid himself of a variety of minor injuries.
He has returned to training earlier than he initially anticipated, though, and could even be restored immediately to the starting line-up for the final.
Taif Al Delamie, the captain, is unavailable, but the Dragons are not short of backline talent with Imad Reyal returning and Murray Strang hoping to beat a hamstring strain to start.
If the Hurricanes are to reclaim the UAE Premiership crown, they will have to get past a formidable side to do it.
“Everyone wants to take our scalp when they play us and that is the best motivation for us,” said Ross Samson, a former professional player with London Scottish who joined Dragons in the summer.
“We have 50 players at training every Monday and Wednesday and the set-up is actually a lot better than some of the rugby at semi-pro level back at home.
“In our squad alone we have players who have played internationally and professionally, so we have a good group of boys.
“We have been concentrating on ourselves, getting good numbers down to training and put our best foot forward on the weekend and the best man wins.”
pradley@thenational.ae
Follow us on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Qosty Byogaani
Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny
Four stars
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SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
Squad: Majed Naser, Abdulaziz Sanqour, Walid Abbas, Khamis Esmail, Habib Fardan, Mohammed Marzouq (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai), Khalid Essa, Muhanad Salem, Mohammed Ahmed, Ismail Ahmed, Ahmed Barman, Amer Abdulrahman, Omar Abdulrahman (Al Ain), Ali Khaseif, Fares Juma, Mohammed Fawzi, Khalfan Mubarak, Mohammed Jamal, Ahmed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Ahmed Rashid, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Wahda), Tariq Ahmed, Mahmoud Khamis, Khalifa Mubarak, Jassim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Yousef Saeed (Sharjah), Suhail Al Nubi (Baniyas)
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
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
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
THREE
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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.
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
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TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
When December 14-17
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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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
