It has long been the recipe for global domination for the Springboks. Now, a remorseless forward pack and reliable boot has sealed the claims of South Africa's leading Super franchise, the Pretoria Bulls, to be regarded as the leading provincial side in the world.
That was the stated aim of Heyneke Meyer, the former coach, when he joined the Pretoria-based union in 2002. With three titles in four years in the world's leading club competition, it is difficult to argue against them having that status now.
They defended their title by methods far different to the ones they employed 12 months ago in beating the New Zealand side, the Waikato Chiefs, in the previous final.
Their brutal forwards initially outmuscled their compatriots, the Cape Town Stormers, up front, laying the platform for Morne Steyn, the South Africa fly-half, to kick them to victory with six penalties.
The Stormers went into the match boasting the best offence thanks to their free-running backs, as well as the defence that had been penetrated the least times. But the Bulls proved once again they are as capable at either end as any team in this competition.
If the brilliant Stormers backline had any doubts over the size of the task facing them, they would have lasted little more than a minute.
They had their hands on the ball for the first minute from kick-off, but in that time all they managed was a brisk retreat as they were forcibly repelled in every tackle.
When Gio Aplon, their impish Springbok Sevens star who plays on the right wing, took his first tackle, he was sent backwards almost as quickly as he can run forwards.
For much of the time, the speedy little backs from Cape Town resembled pygmies trying to tie together the shoe laces of giants as they tried to fell their opposite numbers. Despite the disparity, they battled manfully. All their effort did not take long to show its effects. There were two blood replacements within the first 10 minutes and, ironically, the first to exit was Andries Bekker, the second-row forward and the biggest man in rugby.
Bekker, who was hailed "the best No 5 lock in the world" by Victor Matfield, his Springbok teammate and direct opponent in the final, cut his lip. By the time he returned, 15 minutes later, his Stormers side were trailing to two clinically taken Steyn penalties.
Schalk Burger, the visiting captain, had a try ruled out after 18 minutes for a double movement, which was quickly followed by another double-blow.
Juan de Jongh, the centre who scored arguably the try of the Super 14 season in last week's semi-final win over the New South Wales Waratahs, was the next to go.
The dangerous inside-centre's departure with a leg injury was not just a blow for his Stormers side's quickly fading title hopes. It also means Peter de Villiers, the Springboks coach, may have to find a replacement for him for the forthcoming Test match in Wales.
To exacerbate the woe, the Bulls went over for the opening try moments after De Jongh limped off, as Francois Hougaard, the winger, burst through from a neat pass by Fourie du Preez to touch down under the posts.
The 16-3 scoreline at half time looked comfortable, but the Bulls players obviously knew they were in a battle. One of the broadcasting innovations which has been rolled out in this season's Super 14 has been catching a word with one of the players as they walk off at half time.
This time Wynand Olivier, the Bulls centre, had drawn the short-straw. "It's fast. Hard going," was the best he could manage as he panted into the microphone.
Bryan Habana, the winger who won two titles with the Bulls before moving to Cape Town at the start of this year, gave his new side hope with a second-half interception try.
Ricky Januarie, the replacement scrum-half, added a second try for the Stormers before the end, but the Bulls were not to be denied.
* Compiled by Paul Radley
Copa del Rey
Barcelona v Real Madrid
Semi-final, first leg
Wednesday (midnight UAE)
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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.”
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.