Saracens might have started something, here. When their line-up for the Aviva Premiership final is announced today, it will be revealed which of their two scrum-halves won the toss of a coin to decide who would start the biggest match of the campaign.
Neil de Kock and Richard Wigglesworth have alternated in the No 9 shirt for the club this season. They have played the same amount of matches over the course of the campaign and opted to spare their coaches the headache of deciding which of them to pick.
So, earlier this week, they tossed a coin to decide between themselves. The scrum-half dilemma is not the only one facing Saracens, however.
Did they have a game of spoof to see which of Owen Farrell, Alex Goode and Wigglesworth will take the kicking duties? A game of rock-paper-scissors to decide whether or not to kick with the wind?
Professionalism has permeated English rugby so deeply since the game went open in 1995 that barely anything is left to chance.
When key decisions, such as whether to kick a late penalty for the posts or for touch, have to be made, a water-boy who is connected via an earpiece to the coach in the stands is always on hand to pass on the decision to the captain.
Before the game starts, replacements know almost to the minute when they will be introduced, no matter the state of play.
Whoever starts at No 9 for Saracens, for example, already knows they are likely to be replaced 50 minutes in. So it seems odd that Saracens, on the eve of the biggest match of their campaign, have left a key personnel decision to luck.
The players say it is a sign of the strong team spirit at the club. "It might seem unusual but we're both on the same team and we get along really well," De Kock, the South African scrum-half, said.
Danny Care, the England scrum-half, cannot see the idea catching on. If the same thing were to happen to him and Ben Youngs, the incumbent England No 9, ahead of the World Cup later this year, he would come prepared.
"I would definitely get one of those double-sided coins if it did come down to that," said Care, the Harlequins scrum-half, speaking in Abu Dhabi yesterday. "It is an interesting thing and hopefully it works out for them …
"The way they play doesn't change the way Saracens play, so they can swap in. If I was doing a coin toss, I would definitely like to win that if it meant playing in a Premiership final."
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
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