No one was more surprised than Hurricanes captain Dane Coles when a turbulent final weekend of Super Rugby’s regular season saw his Wellington side emerge as top qualifier.
In a weekend that started with multiple permutations in play, the Hurricanes needed a bonus-point win over the Canterbury Crusaders, who led the competition until three weeks ago, and two other results to go their way.
That was how it panned out when the Hurricanes whipped the Crusaders 35-10 to catapult from fourth in the New Zealand conference to top overall and guaranteed home matches through the play-offs.
The Chiefs only needed a win to overtake the Hurricanes but were beaten 25-15 by the Highlanders who, in turn, were unable to get the winning bonus point they needed to claim the top spot.
The outcome then boiled down to the Golden Lions, who started the weekend in pole position but paid dearly for their gamble to rest 15 of their stars when they went down to the Jaguares.
It was an outcome that even amazed the usually confident Coles.
“I didn’t expect to get a bonus point. I am not going to lie,” he said.
“I knew we could perform and get the result, but to get the bonus point was pretty pleasing.”
After the Highlanders beat the Chiefs, the Hurricanes had a nervous wait for the outcome of the Lions game, which was being played in Argentina as Coles and his team flew back to Wellington from Christchurch.
Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd said they pushed the boundaries of air safety rules on the flight trying to monitor what was going on.
“Somebody was watching it on their phone until three minutes before the end when we lost reception and at that stage I think (the Jaguares) were up by 10 or 12 points so I guess that put the icing on the cake for us,” he said on landing.
The four conference winners; the Hurricanes, Lions, Western Stormers and ACT Brumbies will next weekend host quarter-finals against the Coastal Sharks, Crusaders, Chiefs and Highlanders respectively.
It was the Hurricanes’s usual backroom players who came to the fore in their demolition of the Crusaders.
Jason Woodward and Willis Halaholo, promoted to start in the centres because of injuries, both scored tries as did replacement flanker Callum Gibbins.
In Dunedin, a yellow card proved costly for the Chiefs who were in front until 13 minutes into the second half when they were reduced to 14-men and the Highlanders cashed in with a quick penalty and try to open up a lead.
Lions coach Johan Ackermann was left to deal with the harsh reality that his gamble on leaving his frontline troops at home to rest before the quarter-finals had backfired.
The South Africans only needed a losing bonus point against the Jaguares to finish top of the table but instead they squandered a half-time lead to lose 34-22.
The Brumbies downed the Western Force 24-10 to wrap up the Australian conference qualifying spot, with their pathway to the finals eased when their nearest rivals, the NSW Waratahs, were beaten 34-28 by the Auckland Blues.
The Sharks secured the remaining play-off berth, and ensured themselves a trip to Wellington with a laboured 40-29 win over the Sunwolves in Durban.
It was enough to keep them one point ahead of the Northern Bulls, their nearest rivals for the quarter-final slot, who beat the Central Cheetahs 43-17.
Super Rugby quarter-finals fixtures (x denotes seeding. All times UAE):
Friday
At Canberra
ACT Brumbies (AUS x4) v Otago Highlanders (NZL, holders x5) 12pm
Saturday
At Wellington
Wellington Hurricanes (NZL x1) v Coastal Sharks (RSA x8) 11.35am
At Johannesburg
Golden Lions (RSA x2) v Canterbury Crusaders (NZL x7) 6.30pm
At Cape Town
Western Stormers (RSA x3) v Waikato Chiefs (NZL x6) 9pm
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The biog
Marital status: Separated with two young daughters
Education: Master's degree from American Univeristy of Cairo
Favourite book: That Is How They Defeat Despair by Salwa Aladian
Favourite Motto: Their happiness is your happiness
Goal: For Nefsy to become his legacy long after he is gon
Suggested picnic spots
Abu Dhabi
Umm Al Emarat Park
Yas Gateway Park
Delma Park
Al Bateen beach
Saadiyaat beach
The Corniche
Zayed Sports City
Dubai
Kite Beach
Zabeel Park
Al Nahda Pond Park
Mushrif Park
Safa Park
Al Mamzar Beach Park
Al Qudrah Lakes
RESULTS
Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.
Women’s bantamweight
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) beat Cornelia Holm (SWE) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Omar Hussein (PAL) beat Vitalii Stoian (UKR) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) beat Ali Dyusenov (UZB) by unanimous decision.
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) beat Delfin Nawen (PHI) TKO round-3.
Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) beat Emad Hanbali (SYR) KO round 1.
Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Ramadan Noaman (EGY) TKO round 2.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) beat Reydon Romero (PHI) submission 1.
Welterweight
Juho Valamaa (FIN) beat Ahmed Labban (LEB) by unanimous decision.
Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) beat Austin Arnett (USA) by unanimous decision.
Super heavyweight
Maciej Sosnowski (POL) beat Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) by submission round 1.
ENGLAND TEAM
England (15-1)
George Furbank; Jonny May, Manu Tuilagi, Owen Farrell (capt), Elliot Daly; George Ford, Ben Youngs; Tom Curry, Sam Underhill, Courtney Lawes; Charlie Ewels, Maro Itoje; Kyle Sinckler, Jamie George, Joe Marler
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, George Kruis, Lewis Ludlam, Willi Heinz, Ollie Devoto, Jonathan Joseph
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Gulf Men's League final
Dubai Hurricanes 24-12 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
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%3Cp%3EHigh%20fever%20(40%C2%B0C%2F104%C2%B0F)%3Cbr%3ESevere%20headache%3Cbr%3EPain%20behind%20the%20eyes%3Cbr%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3Cbr%3ENausea%3Cbr%3EVomiting%3Cbr%3ESwollen%20glands%3Cbr%3ERash%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Brief scores
Barcelona 2
Pique 36', Alena 87'
Villarreal 0
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
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.”
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
NEW ARRIVALS
Benjamin Mendy (Monaco) - £51.75m (Dh247.94m)
Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur) - £45.9m
Bernardo Silva (Monaco) - £45m
Ederson Moraes (Benfica) - £36m
Danilo (Real Madrid) - £27m
Douglas Luiz (Vasco de Gama) - £10.8m
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
