Historic victory for JESS at Rosslyn Park Sevens puts UAE girls’ rugby on the map

The historic success of Jumeirah English Speaking School girls at the Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens this week was “huge for sport in the UAE in general”, according to the side’s coach.

The London-based festival, which has been running since 1937, is said to be the largest schools rugby event in the world. There were 1,203 teams involved this week.

JESS became the first international winners in the Under-14 Girls tournament when they beat Oakham School in the final. On route to the title, they beat Dubai English Speaking College in the semi-final.

Bradley Janes, the lead girls rugby coach at JESS, was already well aware of the esteem in which Rosslyn Park is held, having played in the tournament himself in the past.

He said his side did not know what would constitute success ahead of the trip to London, but that they had been quietly confident.

“We see this as a big win, not just for JESS – and of course, it’s huge – but for sport in the UAE in general,” he said. “It shows that we are competing at the top in the world, now.

“I had high aspirations with the team we brought as they are such great players, but to go and actually do it, we are so proud of them.

“They have been working so hard in the lead up to the tournament, before school, with early mornings all through the week.

“Not knowing too much about the competition we just focused on what we could do and working as hard as we possibly can. That has paid off.”

Female sides from the UAE only started competing at Rosslyn Park in 2022 when the Dubai College U18s sent a team.

Within two years, the city has had two girls’ teams reaching the last four of a tournament.

JESS scored 230 points and conceded just 24, with Hind Salam being named player of the tournament.

Charlotte Battiston lifts the trophy after JESS won the U14 Girls competition at Rosslyn Park Sevens in the UK. All pictures by Peter Hall.
Charlotte Battiston is the captain of the JESS side who won the U14 Girls competition at Rosslyn Park Sevens in the UK.
Savannah Osuhor heads over to score a try.
Grace White in action for JESS.
JESS celebrate with their trophy.
Grace White makes a break for JESS.

The identity of their opposition in the final is evidence of the high standard at which they are competing. Oakham counts among its former pupils the former England men's captain Lewis Moody, ex-British & Irish Lion Tom Croft and current Scotland player Hamish Watson.

“Back home we have good competition, and with Dubai College and DESC, we are all pushing each other constantly to get better,” Janes added.

“Coming here you get a perspective of where you are outside of that Dubai bubble. Hearing all those big-name schools, the girls could easily have gone into their shells.

“They did the complete opposite, and performed so well. They stepped up amazingly.”

Charlotte Battiston, the JESS captain, said the side had adapted well to conditions which are entirely alien to them. The weather in London this week has been cloudy, with temperatures topping out in the low mid-teens.

“We felt like we had a good chance of getting through but we never expected to win through that far,” Battiston said.

“The competition is completely different to Dubai and it has been really cool playing in another country.

“In Dubai the ground is always dry and the air is warm, but here it is so much colder. We pushed through it. Our team are all just best mates and it is such a good environment to play in.”

Along with a number of her JESS teammates, Battiston was up against some of her Dubai Hurricanes club colleagues when they faced DESC in the semi-final.

She said they were grateful to them for staying around to support them in the final.

“We were confident going into the game but expected nothing,” she said of the 29-5 win in the last four.

“We went in thinking it was any other game against any other school. It was great that they came back to support us. They are also our friends from outside school, so it was nice to have them.”

Janes hopes the success in London will inspire even more girls to take up rugby.

“As soon as people start seeing what is possible and think, ‘Oh, I actually can do that,’ participation increases,” he said.

“With that, competition increases and competition breeds success. I guess that is the story here at JESS.

“It is great that we have so many numbers playing. Hopefully this is just the start, and more and more kids will take up rugby. This big win will hopefully inspire them to do that.”

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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Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'

Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.

Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.

"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.

"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.

"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."