Neil Powell, the South Africa sevens coach, says he would be willing to switch to the 15-a-side game to help the beleaguered Springboks.
Powell has enjoyed appreciable success in the abridged code since stepping up from the playing ranks to take over from Paul Treu, the former coach, in 2013.
The Blitzboks are the reigning World Sevens Series champions. They have also won Commonwealth gold and Olympic bronze medals during Powell’s spell at the helm, and they were recently named the team of the year across all sports in South Africa.
Their success directly contrasts the fall of their XVs colleagues. Allister Coetzee, the Boks coach, has been facing mounting criticism after overseeing a miserable run of results in Test rugby.
On his watch, they have won just 11 of 24 matches, suffered record losses to New Zealand and Ireland, and have also lost matches to an out-of-sorts Argentina and Italy.
Although Coetzee said before Saturday’s Test against Wales that he is “definitely going to Japan [World Cup] in 2019”, it is doubtful whether he will still be in a job once the autumn series is reviewed.
Powell is focusing on readying his side for a defence of both the series and Commonwealth Games titles this season, but would like to be part of the solution to the XVs problems.
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“There are a lot of discussions taking place at this stage regarding Springbok XVs,” Powell said, ahead of his side’s Emirates International Trophy defence in at the Dubai Rugby Sevens this weekend.
“Everybody has been asking, ‘Will Allister stay, or will he go?’ I think there will be a lot of movement, and if they ask me to go and help the XVs side, I definitely will do it.
“As it stands now, I still have a contract with Springbok Sevens until 2020. Whether it be with XVs or sevens, the important thing is just try to make South African rugby better.
“If I can contribute in any way to do that, I will gladly do it.”
For now, the Blitzboks are focused on success in Dubai, and they have powerful squad to choose from ahead of their first game against Uganda at 10.52am on Friday at The Sevens.
It includes several players who have caught the eye in the 15-a-side game, such as Kwagga Smith and Seabelo Senatla.
Smith, the flanker, has been conspicuous in major matches in recent months. He started for Lions against the Crusaders in the Super Rugby final, when his red card was arguably the seminal moment in the match.
He was also named man of the match when the Barbarians ran New Zealand close at Twickenham at the start of the autumn series.
Powell is grateful to have players of his ilk back in the sevens programme, as they plan for a busy season which includes the Commonwealth Games in Australia in April, and the World Cup Sevens in United States next summer.
“We are lucky in the sense the guys are wanting to come back to sevens,” Powell said.
“It shows the loyalty towards the programme, and also the culture that has been created in the sevens environment.
“I think a lot of XVs teams are after Kwagga now after that great match against New Zealand. Hopefully we can keep him in the system till 2020, not just him but a number of core players.
“It’s not a given we will get Kwagga and Seabelo because it falls outside of the regulation lines, but hopefully the goodwill of the unions will see them release those players for the Commonwealth Games.”
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Read also:
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Jerry Tuwai rises from modest background to become Fiji superstar
France call on Fijian know-how with 2024 Olympics in mind
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MATCH INFO
Burnley 0
Man City 3
Raheem Sterling 35', 49'
Ferran Torres 65'
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Enterprise-grade%20security%20and%20privacy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Unlimited%20higher-speed%20GPT-4%20access%20with%20no%20caps%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Longer%20context%20windows%20for%20processing%20longer%20inputs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Advanced%20data%20analysis%20capabilities%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Customisation%20options%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shareable%20chat%20templates%20that%20companies%20can%20use%20to%20collaborate%20and%20build%20common%20workflows%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Analytics%20dashboard%20for%20usage%20insights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Free%20credits%20to%20use%20OpenAI%20APIs%20to%20extend%20OpenAI%20into%20a%20fully-custom%20solution%20for%20enterprises%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at the Gabba
Australia 312-1
Warner 151 not out, Burns 97, Labuschagne 55 not out
Pakistan 240
Shafiq 76, Starc 4-52
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The biog
Favourite book: You Are the Placebo – Making your mind matter, by Dr Joe Dispenza
Hobby: Running and watching Welsh rugby
Travel destination: Cyprus in the summer
Life goals: To be an aspirational and passionate University educator, enjoy life, be healthy and be the best dad possible.
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.”
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
Rating: 4/5
Vikram%20Vedha
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Gayatri%2C%20Pushkar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hrithik%20Roshan%2C%20Saif%20Ali%20Khan%2C%20Radhika%20Apte%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Who is Ramon Tribulietx?
Born in Spain, Tribulietx took sole charge of Auckland in 2010 and has gone on to lead the club to 14 trophies, including seven successive Oceania Champions League crowns. Has been tipped for the vacant New Zealand national team job following Anthony Hudson's resignation last month. Had previously been considered for the role.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
