DUBAI // Wayne Marsters, the caretaker UAE coach, will attempt to staunch the national team's miserable run of form and fortune by handing the teenaged Quihen Marais the pivotal fly-half berth for tonight's meeting with Brazil.
The Al Ain Amblers centre is highly valued by his coach, who regards him as one of the brightest prospects in the game here.
However, Marsters would not have wanted to deploy him in the vital No 10 position in just his second match in international rugby.
Marais is only 18, and was on a drip in hospital when illness struck two weeks ago, forcing him to miss the Dubai Rugby Sevens at the start of this month.
His performance was one of the few redeeming features in the heavy defeat to Hong Kong in the opening match of the week-long Emirates Cup of Nations on Saturday.
"We were really pleased with how Quihen did [in his debut against Hong Kong]," Marsters said.
"He has a good defensive and kicking game, and we are confident he can do a good job at No 10."
Marais, who played at outside-centre against Hong Kong, is at least the fourth choice fly-half, which is a sign of just how desperately stretched the national team's resources are at present.
Murray Strang, the nominal first choice, who is still yet to make his XVs debut for the UAE, is nursing a hamstring strain he sustained in the Sevens.
Tim Fletcher, his likely understudy, is faced with the same problem, while Imad Reyal, who was handed the No 10 shirt in an emergency on Saturday, is starting a three-week suspension for a dangerous tackle.
Elsewhere, Stuart Quinn, the scrum-half, has been forced out of the competition by the injury he sustained in the warm up before the Hong Kong loss, while Sean Hurley misses out this evening with an ankle injury.
Renier Els, the UAE captain, acknowledged the side had a problematic build up to this new competition, but said that should not have excused their shoddy defensive performance in the opener.
"The boys now know what international rugby is about, so we can just look forward," the Abu Dhabi Harlequins flanker said.
"It was difficult in that we weren't able to train together as a squad, but that should not be an excuse for missed tackles and that sort of thing."
The UAE are not the only ones having to juggle their resources, however.
This evening's opponents, Brazil, will have to nurse their 26-man tour party through three games in sevens days.
The South Americans lost out to a late score in their opening game against Kenya, and Lucas Duque, the fly-half, acknowledged that victories will not be a given.
"We know it gets harder with each game, so either we put our maximum into each game or we will lose them all," he said.
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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.”
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,100,000 (est)
Engine 5.2-litre V10
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch
Power 630bhp @ 8,000rpm
Torque 600Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 15.7L / 100km (est)
The%20specs
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Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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