With clubs likely to call for a reduced tour to South Africa in 2021, winning second Test in Wellington is key to the British & Irish Lions’ relevance and future.
New Zealand can wrap up a series win against the British & Irish Lions when the sides meet in the second Test in Wellington on Saturday.
For the All Blacks, the Test is the latest in their search for perfection. For the tourists, it might be a case of attempting to remain relevant.
Everything to lose
Good luck, Lions. No pressure. There is just the entire future of the Lions concept riding on this Test match. Or so they say, anyway.
Yes, it has always been the case that the four-yearly Lions series have been regarded as endangered since the game went professional in the mid-1990s.
But now it really does feel as though it is under genuine threat, at least of becoming a pared-down, diluted version of its current self.
English clubs think the strain on the assets they loan out for this window is becoming too great, and are pushing for the trip to South Africa in 2021 to be cut from 10 to eight games, played over five weeks rather than six.
A series whitewash against the All Blacks will do little for the case for retaining the Lions in its current form.
So, again, no pressure.
Warring Warren
There is a fair bit riding on it for the Lions coach, too. Warren Gatland exhibited a trait seldom seen from him before this week: weakness.
The coach admitted the hue and cry over his selection of the "Geography Six" – players recruited as injury cover based on proximity rather than merit – meant he was unwilling to actually field any of them for any significant time against the Hurricanes on Tuesday.
As a result, his best laid plans have unravelled. Players who might have earned a shot at the Test side, such as Iain Henderson, were spent, after playing most of the 80 minutes.
All will be forgiven, of course, if the Lions salvage the Test series. That looks like a big "if" at present.
Making of Maro
There was much to talk about the Lions team selection for the win-or-bust match in Wellington.
Alun Wyn Jones retaining his place in the second row, despite a lukewarm first Test. Peter O’Mahony losing the captaincy, and his place in the squad altogether. Ben Te’o, one of the revelations of the tour, being dropped for a combination of Owen Farrell and Johnny Sexton.
All of which has broadly distracted from the fact Maro Itoje has made the starting XV. Shortlisted for World Player of the Year last season, the England lock will be keen to make up for lost time against Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock.
Wet Wellington
Picking two ball-players in Sexton and Farrell next to each other, instead of the power of Te’o, has been taken by many to mean the Lions plan to play a more expansive game.
It is likely to mean the exact opposite, though. Now the Lions will have three players regarded as among the world’s best tactical kickers next to each other: Conor Murray, Sexton and Farrell.
Given the weather forecasts for heavy rain, it seems certain the ball will be kicked more and run less than in the opener in Auckland.
Concussion care
By most people’s reckoning, Dane Coles is the world’s best hooker, while Ben Smith has a similar claim in the fullback position.
Handy additions, then, for any side, let alone one wanting to win a series as high profile as the Lions one, which only comes around once every 12 years for the host nation.
Each have been removed from the reckoning, however, because of concern over their welfare because of concussion. All involved should be applauded for their good sense.
"You’ve only got one brain," Israel Dagg pointed out, after taking over Smith’s No 15 shirt following his head knock in the first Test.
The low down
Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films
Director: Namrata Singh Gujral
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark
Rating: 2/5
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Army of the Dead
Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera
Three stars
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
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Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
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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