The Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby 7s Tournament is the first leg on the IRB Sevens World Series circuit. As well as staging the IRB event the Dubai Rugby 7s Tournament is also host to an international amateur rugby tournament which runs alongside the IRB event. This event has been running for 41years and is one of the world’s largest rugby tournaments. This exceptionally popular event has become a festival of rugby and is attended by more than 120,000 people each year becoming the main sporting event on the Dubai social calendar.
Tournament information:
Date: Thursday 2nd – Saturday 4th December 2010
Cost: Thursday 2nd – free entry
Friday 3rd – 170dhs
Saturday 4th – 230dhs
Season (Friday & Saturday) – 300dhs
Under 12s accompanied by a parent/guardian enter for free
Rugby Sevens Fixture 2010 Dubai
IRB World Series Event
The Dubai Rugby 7s is the first leg of the Sevens World Series tournament. Dubai has hosted this event since 1999 with Emirates Airline being the proud sponsor. 16 international teams compete to the highest standard of rugby over two days.
Preview Of Sevens, Dubai, 2010
Samoa begin the defence of their HSBC Sevens World Series title in Dubai on Friday, with the added pressure of being the team to beat this year.
When Samoa were crowned 2009/10 World Series champions, a national public holiday was declared by the Prime Minister in honour of their first title since the Series' inception.
Following Lolo Lui's dramatic sudden death extra time penalty in the 2010 Edinburgh Sevens semi final against England, which clinched the title, Samoa turned their potential into reality and celebrated like true champions.
Now, heading into the first leg of the World Series there are new challenges for the players and staff to tackle in Dubai - a stop-over they are yet to win - against current Rugby World Cup Sevens champions Wales, hosts Arabian Gulf and Kenya in Pool A.
In Pool B, Commonwealth Games champions New Zealand will have one goal in mind when the team steps onto the turf at the The Sevens stadium in Dubai - to get their hands back on the HSBC Sevens World Series title.
The Kiwis got last season off to the best possible start with victory in Dubai in 2009 but missed out on the overall title, finishing second to first-time winners Samoa. New Zealand has been drawn in Pool B alongside Argentina, USA and Zimbabwe, with their first scheduled match against the Americans on Friday.
In Pool C, Australia will look to carry last season's impressive form into a new World Series campaign. Australia ended the 2009/10 season in third position behind Samoa and New Zealand, their best finish in eight years, and also won their first Cup title since 2002 at the 2010 London Sevens.
And things are already looking promising for the men in gold having recently won their first ever silver medal at the Commonwealth Games, as well as winning Oceania Sevens in preparation for the 2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series.
Australia are joined in Pool C by Scotland, Russia and South Africa, who they meet in the final match of Day One at Dubai's purpose-built Rugby Sevens complex.
Michael O'Connor's side have won the past five meetings with the Springboks, the medal semi-final at the Games in Delhi, as well as one Cup and three Plate finals including the 2009 Dubai Sevens, but the last time they lost to Paul Treu's side was a 29-0 defeat in the pool stages of the same tournament, something that will act as extra motivation this weekend.
In Pool D, England will be looking to add to their titles in 2004 and 2005 in a stadium that is famously pro-England that - if achieved - will also see their first Cup victory since the 2009 London Sevens.
England's campaign begins with matches against France and then Portugal, before they finish day one with a mouth-watering clash against Fiji. Last year both Fiji and England reached the Cup semi-finals before bowing out to Samoa and New Zealand.
While England have no World Series debutants in Dubai, Fiji have six new faces in their squad. They have not won the Dubai Sevens since the inception of the World Series, but will be looking to improve on their overall position of fourth in the 2009/10 standings.
Pool A: Samoa, Wales, Kenya, Arabian Gulf
Pool B: New Zealand, United States, Argentina, Zimbabwe
Pool C: Australia, Scotland, South Africa, Russia
Pool D: Fiji, Portugal, England, France
Previous winners of Dubai leg:
2009/10: New Zealand
2008/09: South Africa
2007/08: New Zealand
2006/07: New Zealand
2005/06: South Africa
2004/05: England
2003/04: England
2002/03: South Africa
2001/02: New Zealand
2000/01: no winner
1999/2000: New Zealand
1998/99: New Zealand
