HIGASHIOSAKA, JAPAN - OCTOBER 03: Semi Radradra of Fiji runs with the ball on his way to scoring his team's fourth try during the Rugby World Cup 2019 Group D game between Georgia and Fiji at Hanazono Rugby Stadium on October 03, 2019 in Higashiosaka, Osaka, Japan. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
HIGASHIOSAKA, JAPAN - OCTOBER 03: Semi Radradra of Fiji runs with the ball on his way to scoring his team's fourth try during the Rugby World Cup 2019 Group D game between Georgia and Fiji at Hanazono Rugby Stadium on October 03, 2019 in Higashiosaka, Osaka, Japan. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
HIGASHIOSAKA, JAPAN - OCTOBER 03: Semi Radradra of Fiji runs with the ball on his way to scoring his team's fourth try during the Rugby World Cup 2019 Group D game between Georgia and Fiji at Hanazono
Rugby World Cup 2019: Fiji find form to blow away Georgia in Pool D clash
Winger Semi Radradra scored twice and made three others as the Pacific islanders rebounded from defeats to Australia and Uruguay to get their first win in Japan
Fiji finally found their feet at the Rugby World Cup with a dominant 45-10 victory over Georgia on Thursday as their jet-heeled backs tore their Pool D rivals apart in a seven-try rout at a rain-drenched Hanazono Rugby Stadium.
Winger Semi Radradra scored twice and made three others as the Pacific islanders rebounded from defeats to Australia and Uruguay to get their first win in Japan.
While their upset loss to Uruguay has all but put paid to their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals, Fiji are now in pole position to finish third and qualify for the 2023 World Cup.
Former Australia rugby league international Radradra was at the heart of their best moves and grabbed a brace as well as helping set up scores for centre Waisea Nayacalevu, scrumhalf Frank Lomani and his fellow winger Josua Tuisova.
Georgia fought hard and had a try from totemic flanker Mamuka Gorgodze but tired towards the end as Fiji flanker Semi Kunatani and lock Apisalome Ratuniyarawa crossed to widen the scoreline.
"Very pleasing today, that was a great effort from the boys," said Fiji coach John McKee. "A real arm wrestle for the first 45 or 50 minutes but to come home so strong and score some really good tries, really pleasing.
"It's great to see us scoring some tries out wide and showing our talents to the world."
Georgia coach Milton Haig spoke in the buildup to the match about the importance of stopping the Fijians' running game but he conceded his side had no answer to their lightning attacks.
"Once you let them get in behind you with those line breaks, they're pretty hard to stop," said Haig. "They're the best in the world at open play."
The rain came shortly before kickoff and made for an untidy opening as the ball squirted in an out of players' hands, the Fijians making nine handling errors in the first half alone.
Georgia fullback Soso Matiashvili looked to have given them the lead with a penalty in the 15th minute but after some indecision from the judges the kick was ruled to have slid wide.
The Georgians would pay for that miss minutes later when Ben Volavola's kick through was gathered by Radradra and his flicked inside pass released Nayacalevu for a clear run to the line.
A terrific Georgian break took them from one end of the field the other and while they knocked on just short of the line play was called back for a penalty, which Matiashvili converted.
Replays showed Fiji wing Tuisova was fortunate not to have been carded after his swinging arm caught Alexander Todua on the head in the buildup, though referee Paul Williams took no action.
Fiji took full advantage of drier conditions early in the second half and went further ahead five minutes after the break.
With the referee playing penalty advantage, fullback Kini Murimurivalu shipped a pass wide to Radradra, who shurgged off a couple of Georgian tacklers to feed inside runner Lomani for the score.
Their third arrived shortly after as Fiji worked the ball wide from a lineout and Radradra again delivered the dagger, biding his time to invite the Georgian challenge before releasing Tuisova in the corner.
Georgia hit back with a try to Gorgodze, the flanker bashing his way over the line after the Fijians had totally misjudged the flight of the ball from the kickoff.
Tuisova, put in for a try by Radradra in the first half, then returned the favour as his well-timed pass opened up a lane for the flying Fijian left wing and he turned on the jets to score in style.
Fiji's fifth and sixth tries came in quick succession, Kunatani going over from a few yards out before replacement Ratuniyarawa finished off a sweeping move from inside their own half.
The Fijians got their seventh try four minutes before the end, Radradra sprinting clear after Georgia had coughed up the ball in their own territory.
Name: Thndr Started: 2019 Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr Sector: FinTech Headquarters: Egypt UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi Current number of staff: More than 150 Funds raised: $22 million
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
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.”
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (Turf) 1,200m Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,400m Winner: Sawt Assalam, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,400m Winner: Foah, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel.
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (T) 1,400m Winner: Faiza, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,600m Winner: RB Dixie Honor, Antonio Fresu, Helal Al Alawi.
7.30pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh 100,000 (T) 1,600m Winner: Boerhan, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard.
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023 More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
THREE POSSIBLE REPLACEMENTS
Khalfan Mubarak
The Al Jazira playmaker has for some time been tipped for stardom within UAE football, with Quique Sanchez Flores, his former manager at Al Ahli, once labelling him a “genius”. He was only 17. Now 23, Mubarak has developed into a crafty supplier of chances, evidenced by his seven assists in six league matches this season. Still to display his class at international level, though.
Rayan Yaslam
The Al Ain attacking midfielder has become a regular starter for his club in the past 15 months. Yaslam, 23, is a tidy and intelligent player, technically proficient with an eye for opening up defences. Developed while alongside Abdulrahman in the Al Ain first-team and has progressed well since manager Zoran Mamic’s arrival. However, made his UAE debut only last December.
Ismail Matar
The Al Wahda forward is revered by teammates and a key contributor to the squad. At 35, his best days are behind him, but Matar is incredibly experienced and an example to his colleagues. His ability to cope with tournament football is a concern, though, despite Matar beginning the season well. Not a like-for-like replacement, although the system could be adjusted to suit.
