The Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens will kick off a weekend of celebration for the sport at The Sevens stadium in Dubai this weekend with corporate giants HSBC having joined the scrum as the headline sponsor of the IRB Sevens World Series.
It marks a new era for the international sevens series and raises the profile of a sport which joined the Olympic family for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
However, it will also signal the end of an era for hosts Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union (AGRFU) who will take a final bow in this 40-year-old tournament as a consequence of the International Rugby Board’s decision to form home unions in the region.
As thousands of both players and spectators make their way to venue off Dubai-Al Ain Road for one of Dubai’s favourite sporting events, it will also be a celebration of UAE National Day on Thursday, with the organisers giving fans free entry to the tournament on the first day.
The three-day rugby festival, combining sport and entertainment, has attracted the best Sevens playing nations, along with 160 invitation sides from all over the world. Activities for all ages will take place in the Rugby Village area, while on pitch one 16 of the finest teams in the world be vying for the best possible start to their HSBC Sevens World Series campaigns in Dubai.
Leading the way will be defending champions New Zealand who return to the city aiming for their seventh Dubai title having won a record fourth consecutive gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.
The New Zealanders will be determined to get their hands back on the overall HSBC Sevens World Series title which they have not held since the 2007/2008.
The Kiwis will start as favourites when the first leg of the eight-stage IRB Sevens World Series gets under way on Friday and are determined to wrest the title from Samoa.
“We were disappointed to finish runners-up last year to a very good Samoan team so now we’ve got to push on with our goals and objectives this year to win the World Series,” said New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens.
“To do well in the World Series you have to start well. We’ve seen the emergence of a lot of countries over the years in Sevens rugby and it’s going to be no different this season. There are up to six or seven teams that could win any of the tournaments so we’re going to have to start well and Dubai’s certainly first and foremost in our minds,” added the legendary coach who has led his side to more World Series victories than any other team.
“We’ve won eight but haven’t won it the last two years - we were second last year and fourth the year before, but Sevens has got a lot closer.”
Tietjens said his team’s goal over the last year had been to ensure a fourth consecutive gold at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
“Our objective, first and foremost, was to win that (Commonwealth) gold medal, that was right up at the top and then the World Series.
“This year it’s just the World Series so I can tell you that New Zealand will be doing their utmost to go out and win that Series.”
However, Tietjens will have to deal with some new faces as his Commonwealth squad was cut back, the likes of Zac Guildford, Liam Messam, Sherwin Stowers and Fritz Lee having all returned to their Super 15 squads.
Tietjens considers Fiji, a team that was not in Delhi because the country was suspended from the Commonwealth, as strong contenders for the title.
“People might see us as the team to beat and clearly we’ll be going all out to win in Dubai and win the World Series, but I think the sleeping giant is Fiji this year,” the Kiwi said.
“They weren’t at the Commonwealth Games, which was a real shame for them, but they’ll go quietly about their business. They play sevens week in and week out in Fiji and I think that they will bring a very good side.”
Fiji manager Sale Sorovaki was confident that missing the Commonwealths had not affected the preparations of his team, which has not won in Dubai since 1998 and finished last season fourth overall after Samoa, New Zealand and Australia.
“We would have loved to have gone, but it was something that was out of our control. It hasn’t stopped us from preparing for the Series,” said Sorovaki.
Defending Series champions Samoa will be looking to go one better on their Dubai performance last year, where they lost to New Zealand in the final. Coach Stephen Betham knows he has a tough task on his hands having lost several key members of his Series-winning squad.
“Expectations at home are high. It’s all par for the course,” said Betham. “But I am confident that the boys will go out there and give it their best shot. I must admit that the boys are just itching to get on that field and get the Series off to a good start, not just for themselves but for their families and their country,” said Betham.
Also looking to get a good start is South Africa who claimed the overall 2008/2009 Series title, but finished sixth last season. The team lost to Fiji in the quarter-finals in Dubai last year.
“After not doing so well last year, we would really like to do better. I think we deserve better and I think Dubai deserves better from us and hopefully we can come back and give them that,” said South African coach Paul Treu.
He was optimistic of doing well despite having lot of new faces in the side.
“We as sevens coaches are in the business of building the stars of the future, not relying on established household names and I’m quite happy to surprise a few people here this week,” Treu said in his IRB blog.
“In South Africa it’s always going to be a challenge to get players released and we’re taking a very long term approach in terms of our development as a team with the ultimate goal being 2016, but our immediate goal is definitely to start well here in Dubai and then on home soil in George next weekend.”
Treu said Australia “could really be the team to beat”.
“I think they have a better national structure than any other team in terms of Robbie Deans and Michael O’Connor working together with the Academies.
“You only need to look at how many players at the Commonwealth Games and on last year’s World Series were involved with the Under 20s and - most importantly - have been involved in the recent tour of Europe and performed really well.”
Australian coach O’Connor is also looking forward to the Series. “Like every coach I am hoping to win as many games as possible, improve on last year and stay on the top line of the draw,” he said. “Dubai is an excellent tournament with great crowds and atmosphere – it’s a great venue to kick off the series,” added O’Connor.
England coach Ben Ryan is also optimistic and looking forward to a positive start to the season – something he believes is crucial to overall Series success.
“It’s the start of the series and everyone goes in there with high spirits and the promise that anything can happen. Anyone who starts well in Dubai is generally in the mix for the World Series title. There’s a pretty high correlation between being a finalist in Dubai and winning the World Series,” said Ryan.
“The support in Dubai is perhaps more vocal than anywhere else in the world and we love that – it’s great – particularly later in the day when the atmosphere really builds and builds.”
Enjoying plenty of that home town support will be the Arabian Gulf, playing together for the last time.
“It will be very emotional after we finish our last game. I know the guys will leave nothing on the pitch and there will be no regrets when we finish,” said Arabian Gulf captain Sean Hurley making his 11th appearance in the tournament.
Title sponsor Emirates is also gearing up for the tournament. “My best wishes go to the players as without them – and the thousands of passionate fans who attend each year - we would not be able to stage this amazing event,” said Richard Vaughan, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Worldwide.
“Last year, 86,000 spectators attended and coverage was beamed to 140 different countries and watched in 255 million homes. This just goes to show the significance this tournament now holds in the local and international market and provides Emirates yet another platform to consolidate our position as a world force in sports sponsorship,” he added.
Tickets to the December 2-4 tournament are still available and will be on sale at the gate at The Sevens. Children under 12 gain free admission to the general public area and there is a special family stand available, with plenty of activities to keep children entertained in the Rugby Village.
A free bus service transport for fans is available from 7he Sevens to locations across Dubai including Dubai Festival City, Dubai Media City (family drop-off points), Barzar (Madinat Jumeirah), Double Decker, Irish Village, Chi @ The Lodge, McGettigans Irish Pub (Jumeirah Lake Towers) and Barasti. Service starts from 5pm on Thursday, and 7pm on Friday and Saturday.
Teams:
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 in Dubai:
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
Previous winners of the IRB Sevens World Series:
2009/10 - Samoa
2008/09 - South Africa
2007/08 - New Zealand
2006/07 - New Zealand
2005/06 - Fiji
2004/05 - New Zealand
2003/04 - New Zealand
2002/03 - New Zealand
2001/02 - New Zealand
2000/01 - New Zealand
1999/2000 - New Zealand
1998/99 - New Zealand
IRB Sevens 2010/11 World Series calendar:
Friday/Saturday: Dubai (The Sevens)
December 10-11: South Africa, George (Outeniqua Park, George)
February 4-5: New Zealand (Westpac Stadium, Wellington)
February 12-13: USA (Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas)
March 25-27: Hong Kong (Hong Kong Stadium)
April 2-3: Adelaide, Australia (Adelaide Oval, Adelaide)
May 21-22: London (Twickenham)
May 28-29: Edinburgh, Scotland (Murrayfield, Edinburgh)
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