Dubai Rugby 7s

Emirates Airlines Dubai Rugby Sevens

Thursday 24 July 2008 (UAE)

www.dubaifaqs.com

Emirates Airlines Dubai Rugby 7s (Dubai RugbySevens)


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The Dubai Rugby 7s is the sports and social event of the year in Dubai. Allegedly. Apart from the Dubai World Cup, the Dubai Tennis Open, and Friday afternoons at Waxy O'Connors or Thursday nights at Double Deckers. A very popular event, tickets were sold out in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2006.

Sarcasm aside, the Dubai Rugby 7s is actually a big deal with international rugby 7 teams flying in from all over the globe to play rugby and drink beer. The Hong Kong Rugby 7s is supposedly the top tournament of the year but the Dubai Sevens can't rate too far behind. What's On (a UAE magazine) has voted the Dubai Rugby Sevens as the Social Event of the Year every year from 2002-2005. Dubai's bars and nightclubs are packed out with residents and visitors. It's not a weekend for the timid drinker.

The first Dubai Rugby 7s tournament was in 1970 with Emirates sponsorship starting in 1988. In 1996 the Dubai Rugby 7s hosted the qualifying round of the Rugby Sevens World Cup and in 1999 Dubai became the first location for the annual IRB Sevens World Series. In 2005 over 150 teams took part with a large number of social teams from countries around the Gulf and Middle East. Main sponsor is Emirates Airlines which explains the name of the event - and the Emirates International Trophy for the winners of the Dubai Rugby Sevens.

Usually New Zealand and Fiji are expected to dominate the Sevens in Dubai, and in 2007, NZ won against Fiji in a hard fought final, the first time one of the two teams has won since 2002. In 2006, NZ lost against South Africa in the final. In 2005 Fiji knocked the kiwis out in the semi-finals and then went on to lose by only 2 points to England in the final.

World Sevens Series

The Dubai Rugby Sevens tournament is the opening round of the IRB (International Rugby Board) World Series (now called the World Sevens Series) competition, an annual rugby 7s event held in various locations around the world starting in December and finishing in Murrayfield, Scotland in June of the following year. The top 16 rugby 7s teams compete in this championship, usually including New Zealand, England, Australia, France, Ireland, South Africa, Fiji, Samoa, Argentina. NZ have won the World 7s Series every year since it started in 1999-2000, except for 2005-2006 when Fiji won.

Rugby World Cup Sevens (RWC 7s)

The Rugby World Cup Sevens is a tournament held once every 4 years since 1993 and is a different competition from the Sevens World Series. First one was held in Murrayfield, Scotland. Subsequent events were held in Hong Kong (twice) and Argentina. Fiji have won twice, England and New Zealand once each.

The Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union will host the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai (announced by the IRB 01 August 2007) from 05-07 March 2009, and for the first time there will be a women's RWC 7s tournament also. Participating teams will include the the Arabian Gulf (as the host union), Argentina, Australia, England, Fiji, France, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa.

Dubai Rugby 7s 2007 - tickets and transport

Dates 29 November to 01 December 2007 at Dubai Exiles Rugby Club (location map). This will be the last time the Rugby7s is hosted there as the club is scheduled to be knocked down to make way for Meydan - a new racecourse and sports development.
Ticket prices Dh125 for Friday, Dh175 for Saturday and Dh225 for a season pass.
Tickets sold out several weeks before the tournament started.
Free entry on Thursday 29 November 2007, gates open at 7 am.
Tickets on sale from 07 October 2007, available at
- Dubai Exiles
- DNATA Travel Centres
- Emirates Souvenir Retail Outlets (Deira City Centre and Mall of the Emirates)
- HSBC Jumeirah
- Jumbo Electronics (MOE)
- Madinat Jumeirah - at Left Bank
- MMI and MMI outlets
- Sharjah Wanderers
- Spinneys (Umm Suquim).
Online orders and ticket information from www.timeoutdubai.com
Telephone Ticketline 800-4669 for bookings and more information
Car parking is available
Taxis are also available - an especially good idea after consuming buckets of Heineken.
Free buses will be provided to take people home from 7pm until midnight (or later), supposed to run every 10 minutes.

Dubai Rugby 7s 2007 - other information

Dubai Rugby 7s 2007 is the 38th annual rugby sevens event in Dubai, and is the opening leg of the 2007-2008 IRB World Sevens Series.
About 70,000 people are expected to attend, including 1750 participants. Over 12,000 overseas vistors will be joining in.
Countries competing for the Emirates International Trophy are Arabian Gulf, Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, Fiji, France, Kenya, New Zealand, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa, Tunisia, USA, Wales, Zimbabwe.
ZU2, the U2 tribute band, are scheduled to hit the stage for 'Rugby Rock 2007' at the Rugby Village after the IRB final match (they were booked for 2006 but rain stopped play, so to speak).
Family Zone - parents and children under 12 can escape the alcohol-fueled madness of the main public area and relax in a separate alcohol-free Family Area.
Saba'a (Arabic for '7') and Scrummy are fluffy mascots who run up and down the sidelines and appear in your photos when you don't want them to.
Aggreko Dynamos (not Agrekko) are the Australian cheerleaders in orange suits who wobble their pom-poms and never appear in your photos when you want them to.
The Emirates Passing Challenge is a competition anyone can have a go at, try it at shopping malls or the Rugby Village at the Dubai Rugby Sevens.
The Dubai Rugby Sevens Long Lunch is where you can be entertained by well-known rugby personalities talking sh... er, about highlights of their careers. Good entertainment to start off the tournament with.

Dubai Rugby Sevens / 7s 2006 information

30 November - 02 December 2006 (it's normally around this time and coincides with the UAE National Day weekend).
Properly called the "Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens 2006".
Is the opening round of the 2006/2007 IRB World Series Rugby 7s.
Tickets available from Dubai Exiles Club, MMI in Mall of the Emirates (MotE), DNATA Travel Centres, HSBC Jumeirah, Sharjah Wanderers Club, Après Bar in MotE, some Virgin Megastores and Hallmark shops, online from Box Office ME. Or tel Ticketline +971-4-3676520.
Friday 01 December 2006 is 125 dhs per ticket and Saturday 02 December 2006 is 175 dhs. Both days together for 225 dhs. Free for children under 12.
Free entry on opening day - Thursday 30 November 2006, with local, regional, and invitation competitions.
Location is at the Dubai Exiles Club in Al Aweer / Al Awir on the Dubai Hatta Road, near the Dubai Country Club in Nadd/Nad Al Sheba. Find the Al Khail Rd (parallel to Sheikh Zayed Road) and head towards Hatta, there'll be signs telling you where to turn off. If you get to Emirates Road (or Hatta), you've gone too far. Turn around.
Gulf News reported on 21 Nov 2006 that all season tickets were sold out, and only 2000 tickets for the opening day (meaning Friday, not Thursday, presumably) were still available.
Free shuttle bus service is being organised (using double decker buses) from 7pm to midnight, running every 10 minutes from Dubai Exiles ground into Dubai (no, we don't know exactly where either). Note that the word "organised" often has quite a broad definition in Dubai, with synonyms including "disorganised", "delayed", and "failed to materialise".
Up to 30,000 people attended in 2005. As the main stadium only holds 25,000 people, that explains why there's always 5000 people in front of you in the queue at the bar.
The final day sees one of the biggest parties in Dubai kicking off after the games have finished - the 'Rugby Rock', usually with a decent enough band getting the punters hopping about. Performers in previous years have included Suzi Quatro (Suzy Quattro) and Madness. ZU2 (a U2 tribute band) were to perform in 2006 but got trumped by the rain.
The Rugby Sevens Long Lunch in the Grand Hyatt Ballroom had Bob Dwyer (Australian coach) and Brian 'Pit Bull' Moore (England) telling you to eat your vegetables. And no one argued.

Alcohol and Drink Tokens for 2007 Dubai Rugby Sevens

You're not allowed to bring your own alcohol, nor are you supposed to drink alcohol if you're under 21 years old.
To buy drinks at the Rugby 7s in Dubai, you have to first buy 'Drink Tokens' for 20 dhs or 5 dhs each from Drink Token Stations. No refunds are given.
Beer is 20-25 dhs a can, wine 20 dhs a glass, soft drinks 5 dhs a can. There are kegs, cooler bags, bottles available also.

Previous winners of the IRB Rugby 7s in Dubai & Emirates International Trophy

2007 NZ (Fiji runners up), final score 31-21
2006 South Africa (NZ runners up) - and with torrential rain, it was a mudbath
2005 England (Fiji runners up)
2004 England (Fiji runners up)
2003 South Africa (NZ runners up)
2002 New Zealand
2001 New Zealand
2000 New Zealand
1999 New Zealand
1998 Fiji
1997 New Zealand
1996 Fiji

Previous winners of the the Emirates International Trophy

1995 Kiwi Nomads
1994 Korea
1993 White Heart Marauders
1992 Scotland
1991 Queensland
1990 Toulouse
1989 Crawshays
1988 London Scottish