ABU DHABI // With an angry-looking black-eye ripening, and another scar added to the collection on his left cheek, it was hardly surprising when Alistair Thompson announced he was ready to unload some of his numerous responsibilities to the cause of the Abu Dhabi Harlequins.
As captain, coach, No 8 and pack-leader, the Scottish teacher has overseen a rich run of success for the club over the past two seasons.
With the Danway Gulf Cup safely wrestled back from Bahrain after a nail-biting final in Saar, Thompson confirmed he is to let go the coaching reins for next season.
"I'm standing down as head coach, so the club will be looking for a new one," said Thompson, who juggles his rugby duties with his job as a teacher at the British School al Khubairat.
"I'm looking forward to playing solely as a player next season.
"I don't want to commit to something that I can't commit to 100 per cent. I love it, but sometimes you can't do everything. I'll come back into coaching, and I'll continue to coach at the British School. It may be my final season, and I want it to be as one of the boys."
Thompson's decision to step down as coach has brought into focus the possibility of Wayne Marsters, the former player and coach of Abu Dhabi, returning to his old club.
The affable ex-Arabian Gulf coach is also set to leave his role as head coach of the Dubai Exiles at the end of the campaign, and would probably be welcomed back in the capital.
Earlier in the month, Bahrain had taken the Gulf Premiership crown from Abu Dhabi, only for the Quins to regain their cup title from their Gulf rivals on their home patch this weekend.
The Abu Dhabi club would have suffered a blank season, though, had Dan Bell's injury-time conversion attempt for Bahrain not skewed wide of the right-hand upright.
The 6-5 final triumph was no less than the Quins deserved after a season of toil, according to their outgoing coach.
"I have said to these guys time and again that we are too good a side to not win any silverware this season," said Thompson. "Although it was close, I think it was just reward for a long season. The boys have kept battling. It is nice to be on the right side of a one-point game."
pradley@thenational.ae
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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.
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MATCH INFO
Maratha Arabians 107-8 (10 ovs)
Lyth 21, Lynn 20, McClenaghan 20 no
Qalandars 60-4 (10 ovs)
Malan 32 no, McClenaghan 2-9
Maratha Arabians win by 47 runs
The BIO
Favourite piece of music: Verdi’s Requiem. It’s awe-inspiring.
Biggest inspiration: My father, as I grew up in a house where music was constantly played on a wind-up gramophone. I had amazing music teachers in primary and secondary school who inspired me to take my music further. They encouraged me to take up music as a profession and I follow in their footsteps, encouraging others to do the same.
Favourite book: Ian McEwan’s Atonement – the ending alone knocked me for six.
Favourite holiday destination: Italy - music and opera is so much part of the life there. I love it.
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Adele: The Stories Behind The Songs
Caroline Sullivan
Carlton Books
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
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What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UFC%20FIGHT%20NIGHT%3A%20SAUDI%20ARABIA%20RESULTS
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At a glance - Zayed Sustainability Prize 2020
Launched: 2008
Categories: Health, energy, water, food, global high schools
Prize: Dh2.2 million (Dh360,000 for global high schools category)
Winners’ announcement: Monday, January 13
Impact in numbers
335 million people positively impacted by projects
430,000 jobs created
10 million people given access to clean and affordable drinking water
50 million homes powered by renewable energy
6.5 billion litres of water saved
26 million school children given solar lighting
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale