Dubai English Speaking College’s bid to add the Girls Under 19 title next week to the Boys equivalent the school won last year at the Dubai Sevens will be a tough task.
Dubai Exiles have traditionally dominated the event. Fellow giants of Gulf club rugby like Abu Dhabi Harlequins and Dubai Hurricanes will also be represented at the competition, which starts on Thursday, December 1.
There will also be the threat posed by city rivals Dubai College, as well as previous winners British School Al Khubairat.
And yet DESC have reason to feel optimistic, too. After all, they are led by one of the leading talents of girls rugby in the region.
Emily Eglen, 17, was the leading try-scorer when the UAE won the Under 20s Women Asia Sevens tournament in Uzbekistan earlier this month.
The Australia-born DESC pupil scored 13 tries in the six games it took the national age-group team to triumph in that event.
It might have been regarded as a decent warm-up ahead of the Sevens, were it not for the fact that just keeping warm at all was part of the challenge for the touring UAE players.
“It was an amazing opportunity to travel to a different country and play with the girls, as I had never done it before,” Eglen said.
“It was a completely different experience for me. I’d never played in rain and such freezing weather before. Going over and playing in that was a lot different to what I am used to, but it was fun playing in a completely different temperature.
“Because you are constantly moving when you are on the field, you are not cold, but before the games it was freezing.”
Eglen has been playing full-contact rugby for the past three years, having first started rugby via a touch programme at DESC.
“I am quite a lot smaller than the other girls,” she said.
“Then, as soon as I got into it, I loved it. But it was scary at first. Being able to make big hits, and run the length of the pitch, it is a good feeling.”
According to George Cliffe, DESC’s coach who was also in charge of the UAE U20 girls side in Uzbekistan, Eglen’s rapid progress in rugby has been a triumph for hard work.
“Emily is a multi-sport athlete,” Cliffe said. “She did athletics when she was younger, she has played netball, and been involved in water polo and basketball.
“She didn’t start rugby until she was in Year 8, so the fact she has done what she has is really nice.
“The transfer of athleticism and physical fitness goes well into rugby, when you have to be aggressive, powerful and fast as well.
“She has been exemplary in terms of her attitude, and that is what has turned her into the player she is today.
“I think people think she found it easy just because she is quick. That hasn’t been the case. They only see the tries on Instagram, but she has put in a lot of hard graft behind the scenes.”
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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.”
