For the second season in a row, hope over the new campaign for Abu Dhabi Harlequins has been offset by the anguish of serious injury suffered by one of their leading lights.
To exacerbate the intense despair, for the second consecutive season it is the same player who is bearing the agony.
Mike McFarlane spent 15 months battling against an initial prognosis that he would never play rugby again after suffering a double-break to his shin bone.
When he made his long-awaited return to the playing field in a warm-up tournament at Al Ain two weeks ago, teammates and rivals alike shared in his delight at conquering the odds.
The player himself was less concerned with celebrating his own return to fitness as he was in encouraging Matt Hutchings, another long-term injury victim, on his own road back to health.
Yet his second outing meant revisiting the despair all over again.
Harlequins travelled to Bahrain last weekend for their final pre-season friendly before Friday’s season opener against Jebel Ali Dragons.
In a run-of-the-mill tackle, McFarlane broke the same leg again, and the darkness returned.
“I knew straight away what had happened and exactly what it was,” the Harlequins No 8 said. “Last time it was a shock. This time I knew straight away, and immediately what went through my mind was all the things I am not going to be able to do over the next couple of months.”
October 18 looms largest – the date when he is due to get married.
McFarlane is unsure whether he will be capable of walking down the aisle, and will get a clearer idea only at his next doctor’s appointment, on October 5.
“It was one of the first things that came into my mind – this must be the quickest way to get into the dog house,” he said. “I’d like to see anyone beat that. If you don’t laugh you will cry. I am not even thinking about rugby at the moment – I just need to be able to walk in three weeks’ time. I need to find this miracle.”
He started a new job at the British School Al Khubairat at the start of this term and is dejected to be missing time off work at a time when he should have been impressing new employers.
After suffering the break, he was taken to the Royal Military Hospital in Manama for surgery immediately, when a steel bolt was again inserted into his broken shin.
Dosed up on painkillers, he eventually made a flight back to Abu Dhabi with his teammate, new work colleague and chaperone, Ed Lewsey, on Sunday night.
“In the days since I’ve been out of hospital I’ve been in disbelief that I am back exactly where I was 16 months ago,” he said.
“The Bahrain boys, who were absolutely outstanding in the way they looked after me, have sent me video of the incident and said, ‘Feel free to watch it when you want – if you want.’
“I haven’t, and don’t think I’m quite ready to.”
McFarlane reckons he has left behind the best side Abu Dhabi Harlequins have yet assembled and is heart-broken to be on the outside for a second time.
Jeremy Manning, the player-coach who will be overseeing his first season in charge at Zayed Sports City, missed the trip to Bahrain.
The former professional player was in Nairobi making his latest guest appearance on the international sevens circuit.
Manning said he initially thought it must have been an ill-conceived joke when he heard the news of McFarlane’s injury.
“I was devastated,” Manning said. “I felt sick and hoped it might have been a practical joke, but it turned out to be true.
“I’m gutted for Mike after everything he went through last season, then he played his first 80-minute game and he re-breaks his leg. It is very sad.
“Everyone is feeling for Mike. He is a massive club man, he is passionate about rugby but everyone at the club will stand behind him and give him all the support he needs.”
When McFarlane made his comeback at Al Ain two weeks ago, he said nothing could replace the buzz of playing rugby.
Now he is facing up to the prospect of having to look for something else to fill the void for good. It is a marker of his self-belief that he already is contemplating triathlons and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro as ways to replace his first sporting love.
“It is one of those things where I can either let it get me down or push on – and it is pointless letting it get me down,” he said. “Obviously, there will be some rubbish days, but I just have to get back on the bike.
“Last time it happened all I thought about was what I needed to do to get back to playing rugby.
“This time I need to be realistic. In another 18 months or two years I will be 29. Is it worth putting my body through it again? I need to look for other physical challenges and there are plenty more out there to do.”
Team profile
Coach Jeremy Manning
Captain Billy Graham
Key player Simon Osborne. Towering lock was one of the first names on the UAE teamsheet before missing last season. Back at Quins from Dubai Hurricanes.
In a nutshell Some think this is the best Quins side ever, and they will be looking to lay down an immediate marker against last season's conquerors on Friday.
Friday fixtures
Saracens v Hurricanes, Zayed Sports City, 7pm
Dragons v Harlequins, Jebel Ali Centre of Excellence, 7pm
Wasps v Exiles, The Sevens, 7pm
pradley@thenational.ae
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
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs: 2019 BMW X4
Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
SPIDER-MAN%3A%20ACROSS%20THE%20SPIDER-VERSE
%3Cp%3EDirectors%3A%20Joaquim%20Dos%20Santos%2C%20Kemp%20Powers%2C%20Justin%20K.%20Thompson%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20Shameik%20Moore%2C%20Hailee%20Steinfeld%2C%20Oscar%20Isaac%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
3. Amaranth
4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
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
MORE ON IRAN'S PROXY WARS
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.”
