Stephen Kearney, the architect of New Zealand's stunning World Cup triumph, has turned down the chance to take over as coach of Super League side Wigan Warriors, according to a report in Auckland.
The Sunday Times in New Zealand claimed that Wigan chairman Ian Lenagan had targeted Kearney, the assistant at Melbourne Storm, as a potential successor to Brian Noble, whose contract is up at the JJB Stadium at the end of the year.
Kearney told New Zealand Rugby League officials of the "expression of interest" but his agent Chris Orr revealed he had decided not to enter into contract negotiations with Wigan for fear it would cost him his role with the New Zealand national side.
"Wigan chairman Ian Lenagan came out to Australia. He was looking at a few candidates and one of them was Stephen," said Orr.
"We had a discussion but nothing further than that really because Stephen decided that, due to his commitments as New Zealand coach and the success he's had with the team, the time wasn't right to leave that job."
In the NRL, Manly withstood a stirring comeback from Canberra to move into the top eight with a 20-14 home win over the Raiders at Brookvale Oval yesterday.
The premiers were coasting at 20-0 midway through the second half, but three tries in seven minutes slashed their lead to six with 11 minutes remaining.
It was Manly's fifth win in their last six games and pushed them into the top eight for the first time this year.
Melbourne claimed a two-point win over the West Tigers yesterday.
The fourth-placed Storm held off the Tigers who have now lost in eight matches in a row.
* With agencies
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Sukuk explained
Sukuk are Sharia-compliant financial certificates issued by governments, corporates and other entities. While as an asset class they resemble conventional bonds, there are some significant differences. As interest is prohibited under Sharia, sukuk must contain an underlying transaction, for example a leaseback agreement, and the income that is paid to investors is generated by the underlying asset. Investors must also be prepared to share in both the profits and losses of an enterprise. Nevertheless, sukuk are similar to conventional bonds in that they provide regular payments, and are considered less risky than equities. Most investors would not buy sukuk directly due to high minimum subscriptions, but invest via funds.
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
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
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5