The UAE forwards make progress in a rain-drenched opening Asian Five Nations match in Colombo.
The UAE forwards make progress in a rain-drenched opening Asian Five Nations match in Colombo.

UAE rugby draw 13-13 with Sri Lanka in Asian Five Nations opener



Dan Boatwright, the Dubai Hurricanes prop, claimed the honour of scoring the first try in international competition for the UAE, yet rugby's newest Test nation were left feeling unfulfilled from their maiden outing.

Boatwright and his Hurricanes clubmate Steve Smith provided the tries as the UAE overturned an 8-0 deficit to draw with Sri Lanka in a sodden opening match in the 2011 HSBC Asian Five Nations.

"It was a dogged effort from the boys," Mike Cox-Hill, the UAE captain, said. "We are still dissatisfied with a draw as it's a game we will look back on and feel we were a good few points better.

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More on UAE rugby

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UAE pair are set for 'huge honour' in Asian Five Nations opener
UAE target Asian Five Nations victory for new era of rugby

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"It was a proper rugby experience, I said to the boys they needed to take it all in as it will be a great experience to look back on – though maybe not the result."

The UAE were playing their first match as a competitive rugby nation, and they were treated to a tough baptism.

Sri Lanka ranks among the world's top 10 nations in terms of rugby participation. A recent report by the International Rugby Board (IRB) revealed there are twice as many registered players on the island than there are in Scotland, one of rugby's longest established nations.

The passion for the game manifested itself in a crowd of more than 4,000 supporters at the atmospheric Ceylonese Rugby and Football Club.

The UAE's players rarely play in front of as much as 100 people in their domestic competition, but the atmosphere beyond the touchline was not the only alien condition greeting them.

The rainy season arrived with a vengeance on Sri Lanka's south-west coast yesterday morning, and pitch was like a quagmire.

Given the power and experience of the UAE's pack, that could have played into their hands as the game rarely extended beyond the forwards, plus the scrum-half and fly-half.

However, the rain was so extreme that handling errors were frequent from both sides, and the Sri Lankans profited from one such mistake to level the scores.

"The conditions really levelled the sides," Cox-Hill said. "We had a lot of possession, we were dominant at the line-out and at the scrum, but when you have so much rain on the field, you can't build phase after phase.

"We are disappointed that we didn't win, yet happy we got the draw after being 8-0 down. In the conditions, we have eked out a result, and earned two points away from home."

The Sri Lankans were also left feeling empty. They missed two penalties to give them victory — although the UAE did have the final shot at goal before the whistle — and were denied a late try because of a knock-on.

"We created enough opportunities to win and it should have really come down to goal kicking," Ellis Meachen, the Sri Lanka coach, said.

"All in all we played enough good rugby to win the game. UAE played well in close quarters but didn't offer anything in the backs."

The UAE may regard the draw in Colombo as a missed opportunity in the battle to beat the drop, but they still have reasons for optimism ahead of their first home game, given what happened elsewhere on the opening day.

The national team face Kazakhstan at the Zayed Sports City stadium in Abu Dhabi on Friday. The former Soviet state finished second last year and are regarded as one of the fastest developing rugby nations in the world.

However, they suffered a terrible start to the competition — going down to a 23-10 defeat in Hong Kong, and lost two players to red cards in the second half of the game.

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The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo

The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
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Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

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The specs
 
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Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold 
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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
 
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Brief scores:

QPR 0

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Capoue 45' 1

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Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
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  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
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At a glance

Fixtures All matches start at 9.30am, at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free

Thursday UAE v Ireland; Saturday UAE v Ireland; Jan 21 UAE v Scotland; Jan 23 UAE v Scotland

UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (c), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan

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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.”

What went into the film

25 visual effects (VFX) studios

2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots

1,000 VFX artists

3,000 technicians

10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers

New sound technology, named 4D SRL