There were some all too familiar lessons for the northern hemisphere’s leading nations after this year’s round of November Tests.
England, the hosts of the 2015 World Cup and the lone northern hemisphere winners of the tournament, were the only European side to beat one of the southern big three of world champions New Zealand, South Africa and Australia when they defeated the Wallabies at Twickenham this month.
They then gave world champions New Zealand a run for their money before, like everyone else in 2013, succumbing as the All Blacks became the first Test side in the professional era to win all their internationals in a single year.
But when teams are well-matched physically, the qualities of ball-playing skill and sheer rugby ‘nous’ still appeared decisive.
In creating New Zealand’s opening try against England at Twickenham, No 8 Kieran Read gave a pass that would have been the envy of many a back, although as All Blacks coach Steve Hansen suggested in reference to another superb piece of handling in that same match by centre Ma’a Nonu, if that’s the way you train and play, these moments become less of a ‘wow’.
South Africa have long been renowned for their power game, but in full-back Willie le Roux there was an indication the Springboks had a rapier as well as a bludgeon to call on.
And with Australia coach Ewen McKenzie laying down the law to his players off the field, by banning players from late-night drinking, yet letting them have their heads on it, with Quade Cooper’s fly-half masterclass in last weekend’s win over Wales the prime example, there were signs of a Wallaby revival.
“The deftness of his passing is what we lack not only in Wales but in the UK as a whole,” said Wales great Barry John, his praise of Cooper also a fairly damning indictment of Home Nations rugby.
Ireland sparkled against New Zealand before a lack of composure at the last prevented a first win over the All Blacks and doubts remain about their ability to ‘get back up’ in quick succession against the world’s best.
Wales, so dominant in Europe, found themselves deficient in the kind of behind the scrum skills they once prided themselves on while for Scotland and Italy the perennial problem of how to turn such possession as they can gather against top teams into tries remained.
England have a pack capable of matching the world’s best, but force and penalties alone, while they may win Tests, may not be enough to win a World Cup.
France, having lost three finals, can be considered the best team never to win a World Cup. There were glimpses in their defeats by New Zealand and South Africa of better days ahead, but only recording wins over Scotland and Tonga in 2013 was a poor return on the talent at their disposal.
The good news for everyone chasing the All Blacks is that no side has yet won back-to-back World Cups, with New Zealand yet to lift the trophy outside of their own country.
Indeed the two most recent World Cups in Europe (1999 and 2007) saw the All Blacks knocked out by France at their enthralling unpredictable best.
November also saw plenty of questions raised about rugby’s approach to the thorny issue of concussion and whether the sport’s proud boast of being a game ‘for all shapes and sizes’ was really credible in an age of physical ‘freaks’.
“They’ve become bigger and stronger, therefore the hits are bigger,” Wales great JPR Williams, an orthopaedic surgeon, told ESPN scrum.com.
Meanwhile Tests continued to take place outside the International Rugby Board’s designated November ‘window’, with the Welsh Rugby Union having to pay the Wallabies a reported £750,000 (Dh4.5m) to play in Cardiff last weekend.
For all its many traditions, rugby union is fast becoming like many another professional sports – if you want to know why something is happening, follow the money.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
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.”
Company%20Profile
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Tottenham's 10 biggest transfers (according to transfermarkt.com):
1). Moussa Sissokho - Newcastle United - £30 million (Dh143m): Flop
2). Roberto Soldado - Valencia - £25m: Flop
3). Erik Lamela - Roma - £25m: Jury still out
4). Son Heung-min - Bayer Leverkusen - £25m: Success
5). Darren Bent - Charlton Athletic - £21m: Flop
6). Vincent Janssen - AZ Alkmaar - £18m: Flop
7). David Bentley - Blackburn Rovers - £18m: Flop
8). Luka Modric - Dynamo Zagreb - £17m: Success
9). Paulinho - Corinthians - £16m: Flop
10). Mousa Dembele - Fulham - £16m: Success
Company%20profile
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Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Structural%20weaknesses%20facing%20Israel%20economy
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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