Auckland // New Zealand coach Steve Hansen has fired up the verbal war with the British & Irish Lions again, suggesting they play New Zealand style to be competitive in the second Test in Wellington next week.
The All Blacks put away their razzle dazzle to get "down and dirty" when they beat the Lions 30-15 in the first Test in Auckland on Saturday.
With the Lions outsmarted at their own game, and losing the crucial forward battle, Hansen recommended they run the ball more often because that was when they were at their most dangerous.
READ MORE: Relentless All Blacks provide dose of reality to British & Irish Lions
They were a whisker away from scoring in the opening minute when they took the world champions by surprise and went wide only for Elliott Daly to be rolled on his back and forced into touch as he dived for the line.
The Lions then stunned Hansen with an 85-metre sweep featuring Liam Williams, Jonathan Davies and Daly before flanker Sean O'Brien finished the move with a try.
"When they can score tries like that first one you're sitting there thinking they should be doing that more often," Hansen said.
"That was probably one of the best Test tries I've every seen."
It was an observation taken on board by Gatland who regretted his Lions suffered from a lack of finishing skills.
"You could argue that Ben Te'o's an option to shift the ball and create an opportunity for an overlap chance," he said.
"You finish those chances and it changes the whole mindset and momentum of the game and unfortunately we created those and didn't quite finish them off."
Instead the Lions persisted with trying to prove their declared aim of being the best forward pack in the world and Hansen said they lost that battle too.
"Our tight five were very, very good. If your tight five do the job everyone else can play. The Test was always going to be won in the tight five and I think we won that battle ... we've got to be extremely proud of what they did," he said.
"I always find it amusing when everyone tell us they're going to beat us up in the tight five because we're not just a team that plays flashy rugby, we can play down and dirty rugby if we have to, and I mean that in the most respectful way."
With the Lions needing to win the second Test in Wellington next week to keep the series alive, Gatland said the tourists now "know what to expect".
But All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster warned the world champions had not shown their full arsenal.
"We went into this game with a plan to combat them and we showed everything we needed to show," Foster said.
"There's some things we can improve, you'll just have to wait and see."
The first Test win came at a price for the All Blacks with Ben Smith failing a concussion Test and Ryan Crotty suffering a hamstring strain.
Waikato Chiefs fullback Damian McKenzie has been called up as cover for Smith, with uncapped Jack Goodhue, the Canterbury Crusaders centre, filling the vacancy in the midfield.
* Agence France-Presse
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Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
THE BIO
Age: 33
Favourite quote: “If you’re going through hell, keep going” Winston Churchill
Favourite breed of dog: All of them. I can’t possibly pick a favourite.
Favourite place in the UAE: The Stray Dogs Centre in Umm Al Quwain. It sounds predictable, but it honestly is my favourite place to spend time. Surrounded by hundreds of dogs that love you - what could possibly be better than that?
Favourite colour: All the colours that dogs come in
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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Ali Farag (EGY)
Simon Rosner (GER)
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Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
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Nick Matthew (ENG)
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Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
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Joelle King (NZE)
Camille Serme (FRA)
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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.”
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7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
Winner: Son Of Normandy, Fernando Jara, Ahmad bin Harmash
