JOHANNESBURG // New Zealand left no doubt, if there was any, as to their status as the best team in the world, continually coming back against a pumped-up South Africa to win 38-27 and clinch a second consecutive Rugby Championship title on Saturday.
The clinical world champions led 21-15 at half-time and overcame second-half yellow cards to forwards Liam Messam and Ben Franks to finish nine points ahead of the Springboks on the table.
A much-anticipated showdown between the top ranked teams in the world, the match had everything, including a typing error.
When referee Nigel Owens queried the introduction of replacement All Blacks hooker Keven Mealamu – a last-minute change – Steve Hansen, the New Zealand manager, came on to blame a “typing error”.
He did not explain how the spelling of Mealamu could be confused with Dane Coles, the original reserve hooker, but Springboks skipper Jean de Villiers was happy for play to continue.
South Africa, who had hooker Bismarck du Plessis controversially sent off in a 29-15 away loss to the All Blacks last month, lost Bryan Habana and Willem Alberts to injury in the opening half.
Left-wing Habana limped off with a hamstring injury after bagging two tries and flank Alberts was taken off on a stretcher following a collision just before the break.
“We had the belief to hit back when the momentum was against us,” said All Blacks flank and skipper Richie McCaw. “As an All Black, I relish these occasions, and winning at this great stadium makes me so proud. We gave everything out there this evening.”
De Villiers said: “To win rugby matches you have to attack and defend and our defence was not up to scratch in this match. Let us give credit to New Zealand – they deserved to win the match and the Championship after a great advertisement for rugby.” Morne Steyn, the South Africa fly-half, opened the scoring from the penalty tee to give the Springboks an early lead, but that was quickly cancelled out by Ben Smith’s try at the other end after he cut inside before crossing the whitewash to silence the Ellis Park crowd.
Aaron Cruden converted, but Bryan Habana soon had the home crowd back on their feet when the wing showed great awareness to claim Duane Vermeulen’s cut-out pass and cross for a try before he added his second two minutes later when he raced onto the end of his own chipped kick.
Steyn converted the first score, then Habana’s dream start was brought to an abrupt halt by injury and, he left the field midway through the first half.
New Zealand hit back with a forwards’ try for Liam Messam who had hold of the ball as the All Blacks’ pack drove over the line with Cruden converting to take the visitors back to within one point.
The game settled down after the frenetic start but New Zealand finished the first half the strongest as they again surged towards the Springboks, with Messam claiming his second try of the match in the final play after the hooter as South Africa were left to rue the decision to run the ball out of their defence.
Cruden added the extras as the All Blacks took a 21-15 lead into the break.
South Africa edged ahead at the start of the second half through wing Willie Le Roux’s converted try and the game then really opened up, with both sides desperate to run the ball at every opportunity.
Le Roux almost scored again but for some last-ditch defending before Ma’a Nonu, the New Zealand centre, was denied the try which would have wrapped up the Championship for the All Blacks.
The substitute Beauden Barrett did, however, fire a penalty, but Jean de Villiers put the Springboks back ahead after he barged over the line to claim the bonus-point try and give his side hope of victory.
However, Barrett crushed those dreams moments later when he crossed for New Zealand’s fourth try of the game, giving them the point they needed to take the title out of South Africa’s reach with 20 minutes still remaining.
No 8 Kieran Read was then unstoppable down the left wing as he powered over the line for another converted score as New Zealand stamped their authority all over the game and ensured victory to go along with the title.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Where to submit a sample
Volunteers of all ages can submit DNA samples at centres across Abu Dhabi, including: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), Biogenix Labs in Masdar City, NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City, NMC Royal Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, NMC Royal Women's Hospital, Bareen International Hospital, Al Towayya in Al Ain, NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The biog:
Favourite book: The Leader Who Had No Title by Robin Sharma
Pet Peeve: Racism
Proudest moment: Graduating from Sorbonne
What puts her off: Dishonesty in all its forms
Happiest period in her life: The beginning of her 30s
Favourite movie: "I have two. The Pursuit of Happiness and Homeless to Harvard"
Role model: Everyone. A child can be my role model
Slogan: The queen of peace, love and positive energy
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.”
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EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
Company%20profile
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World Test Championship table
1 India 71 per cent
2 New Zealand 70 per cent
3 Australia 69.2 per cent
4 England 64.1 per cent
5 Pakistan 43.3 per cent
6 West Indies 33.3 per cent
7 South Africa 30 per cent
8 Sri Lanka 16.7 per cent
9 Bangladesh 0
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
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Film: In Syria
Dir: Philippe Van Leeuw
Starring: Hiam Abbass, Diamand Bo Abboud, Mohsen Abbas and Juliette Navis
Verdict: Four stars
Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
