Champions springboks face tough test in defence of Dubai Rugby 7s crown

In a world-class line-up, last year's runners-up New Zealand will be going all out to regain a title that had been almost their personal property for the previous four years, while rugby strongholds England, Australia, Fiji, Argentina, France and Samoa will all be quietly confident of doing well in what will be the 35th staging of the region's most popular sporting and social event.

Once again, the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby 7s will be the opening round of the IRB Sevens World Series. Crowd favourites Scotland and Ireland - two sides who have enjoyed mixed fortunes recently - will make welcome returns to Gulf shores, while also returning will be title outsiders Portugal, Canada, Kenya, Tunisia and Uganda.

'We say it every year simply because it is true - we have again attracted one of the most powerful, skillful and entertaining line-ups in the history of this amazing tournament,' said Gary Chapman, President of DNATA and Associated Companies, Emirates Group.

'Last year was memorable for so many reasons - the magnificent noise, spectacle and occasion of the final when South Africa ended the four-year winning streak of the All Blacks, the 10,000th IRB Sevens try, and the record attendance of over 43,000 spectators. The event just gets better and better every year and we fully expect even bigger crowds in December, particularly with the tournament coinciding with the National Day holiday.'

Completing the 16-team international line-up will be the Arabian Gulf whose confidence will be high after securing their first IRB win on home soil last year against Zimbabwe. Recent performances have been promising and the home boys will be determined to go one step further in 2004.

'The Arabian Gulf put down a real marker in the Asian qualifying tournament for next year's Rugby World Cup Sevens finals in Hong Kong recently,' said Arabian Gulf RFU chief Darryl Weir.

'Although the team ultimately missed out on one of the three slots available, we surprised just about everyone with the quality of our play and fitness. There's unquestionably a tremendous amount to build on, and the guys are already preparing for the 7s events in Dubai and South Africa in December.'

But while the headlines will be dominated by the international stars, as always the action on the pitches will not be restricted to the big name visitors. The International Invitational, the Gulf, Local Social, Ladies, Vets and Youth competitions all add to the unique spectacle and atmosphere of the occasion and around 2,000 players from over 150 teams are expected to descend on the Dubai Exiles Rugby Ground for three days of exhilarating entertainment.