Steve Hansen not happy about absent New Zealand rugby players

A year from the World Cup, defending champions New Zealand face a depleted talent pool, as several players opt for lucrative overseas contracts.

Although there is an overflow of quality among the loose forwards and outside backs, in other areas there are looming shortages – particularly at hooker, where there is a struggle to find three of international standard for next month’s tour by England.

History has shown opportunities can always arise for fringe players, especially in the last World Cup, when the All Blacks hero was an out-of-condition, and initially out-of-contention, Stephen Donald.

Donald was recalled from holiday and thrust into the final after the three frontline fly-halves were injured.

In a fairy-tale ending, he saved rugby-obsessed New Zealand from deep despair when he kicked the winning penalty in an 8-7 victory over France.

But rather than hoping for injuries to again open a pathway to Test selection, a growing number of players are heading offshore, much to the annoyance of coach Steve Hansen.

Players who put money ahead of an All Blacks jersey lack “mental fortitude”, he said ahead of naming a 35-man All Blacks training squad this week.

“It is frustrating and it is disappointing. Players here have a dream of playing for the All Blacks and then they suddenly give it up when an easier option comes along,” he said.

“It’s not their dream, but they decide to go for it, and I think we need players with a bit more mental fortitude.”

Former All Blacks Mils Muliaina, Zac Guildford, Jarrad Hoeata and Corey Flynn, along with leading Super Rugby players Andre Taylor, Bundee Aki, Jackson Willison, Alipati Leuia, Tyler Bleyendaal, Chris Noakes, Jack Lam and Tom McCartney, have confirmed they are heading overseas this year.

There has also been speculation that former All Blacks Tanerau Latimer, Andy Ellis and Ben Tameifuna will join them.

Generally, New Zealanders are only picked for the All Blacks if plying their club trade in their homeland.

Hansen tempered the naming of his squad by saying there were players missing whom the All Blacks management were well aware of, in an apparent nod to World Cup veterans Flynn and Ellis.

If first-choice scrum-half Aaron Smith was injured, “We might have to bring someone senior back in,” Hansen said yesterday, noting the lack of experience with the other two training-squad members, Tawera Kerr-Barlow and TJ Perenara.

The dearth of experienced hookers also means the 15-Test Flynn remains on the All Blacks short-term radar despite signing with French club Toulouse.

Rising hookers Nathan Harris and Liam Coltman are in the training squad alongside established rakes Dane Coles and the increasingly injury-prone Keven Mealamu, 35.

But selector and former All Black Grant Fox said the selection panel was “not absolutely convinced” Harris and Coltman were ready for Test rugby, which meant Flynn remained an option if required to play against England.

sports@thenational.ae

Follow our sports coverage on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE

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.”

Honeymoonish

%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elie%20El%20Samaan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENour%20Al%20Ghandour%2C%20Mahmoud%20Boushahri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A