Emirates exiles
Will Wilson is not the first player to have attained high-class representative honours after first learning to play rugby on the playing fields of UAE.
Jonny Macdonald
Abu Dhabi-born and raised, the current Jebel Ali Dragons assistant coach was selected to play for Scotland at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2011.
Jordan Onojaife
Having started rugby by chance when the Jumeirah College team were short of players, he later won the World Under 20 Championship with England.
Devante Onojaife
Followed older brother Jordan into England age-group rugby, as well as the pro game at Northampton Saints, but recently switched allegiance to Scotland.
A student rugby player who first learnt the game as a child in Dubai will debut for England at the Hong Kong Sevens this weekend.
Will Wilson, a No 8 who will also take up a professional contract with English Premiership side Wasps this summer, started rugby as a mini for Dubai Exiles aged five.
After his time spent attending primary school at Dubai English Speaking School, he returned home with his family to the UK.
Now 21, he has been called into the England senior side for the first time on the HSBC World Sevens Series for the Hong Kong tournament.
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Read more:
In Dubai, a pipeline from the city’s oldest rugby club to global honours
Arabian Gulf rugby: Club-by-club report card on the 2017/18 season
Bahrain clinch West Asia Cup for first major title in eight years
Dubai Hurricanes aim to build on West Asia Trophy in 2018/19 season
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“To get the call up and to see my name on the screen when the team was announced was an unbelievable feeling,” Wilson said.
“The tournament starts [on Friday], I have been in Hong Kong for six days and it still hasn’t really sunk in yet.
“I am massively excited, hugely honoured to represent my country. I am really grateful as well that the Exiles are putting it out in the press about me, and maybe one day I will be back in Dubai wearing an England shirt back where it all started.”
Wilson has been dovetailing playing rugby with studying at Oxford University for the past three years.
He has been handed his chance with England in Hong Kong after a number of first-team regulars were rested with a view to the Commonwealth Games tournament in Australia next weekend.
“Hong Kong is such a prestigious event on the World Series circuit and will be a brilliant opportunity for our younger players,” Simon Amor, the England coach, said.
“They will have some really tough competition but we are excited to see them showcase their talent as they push on for further honours within England sevens.”
Coincidentally, Wilson captained England’s student side at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa three years ago.
Back then, he was not paying much thought to a career in the game. Now he is weighing up the best way to juggle sevens and XVs commitments, having had discussions about playing both professionally.
He opted to take up a chance at XVs with Wasps, under the belief he might be given the chance to join up with England sevens if further representative chances come his way.
“Three years ago I didn’t see rugby as a career at all,” Wilson said. “I was perfectly happy to go to Oxford, complete my studies, see where university rugby took me, and try to win a blue [the award for representatives of the university rugby team].
“My rugby really came on in the two and a half years I was there. I am massively privileged to be going professional next year, but the Wasps call came out of nowhere.”
Mike Wolff, the Exiles chairman, says Wilson’s elevation to the professional game in the UK is another feather in the cap of the UAE’s oldest club.
“We have seen a number of our players go on to do great things during or after their time with us in Dubai,” Wolff said. “This is all a consequence of the effort and resources our dedicated coaches and volunteers put into the game.
“We are delighted to learn Exiles’ alumnus Will Wilson has been award a full-time professional playing contract with Wasps. To put the icing on the cake, he has been announced as part of the England squad for the Hong Kong sevens.”
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What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
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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.”
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Emirates exiles
Will Wilson is not the first player to have attained high-class representative honours after first learning to play rugby on the playing fields of UAE.
Jonny Macdonald
Abu Dhabi-born and raised, the current Jebel Ali Dragons assistant coach was selected to play for Scotland at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2011.
Jordan Onojaife
Having started rugby by chance when the Jumeirah College team were short of players, he later won the World Under 20 Championship with England.
Devante Onojaife
Followed older brother Jordan into England age-group rugby, as well as the pro game at Northampton Saints, but recently switched allegiance to Scotland.
