Arabian Gulf Rugby Union ready to rumble with the tough boys

Dubai: In less than a month's time history will be created at The Sevens when Steven Cooper leads his Arabian Gulf Rugby Football Union side into battle for the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens.

Cooper still doesn't know who will make the final cut of 12 players that will represent the Union at the tournament, being held from March 5-7, but what he does know is whichever side is picked, it'll be one that will do the Union proud.

Cooper's men qualified for the event by virtue of being the hosts but find themselves in a tough Pool A with world's top-ranking sides in New Zealand, Tonga and Italy.

The Union squad was announced by assistant coach Charlie Keenan, who is also overseeing the physical conditioning of the team, at The Sevens yesterday.

Cooper has promised his side won't participate in the event just to make up the numbers. "It's been a long eight months and we're looking forward to it. This is predominantly a squad that has been training for the past four months. Over the next week the squad will be reduced to 14 and then to 12. I feel sorry for the guys who will miss out because each one deserves to be there, but we've got to put out the best squad; one in which the team members complement each other," he told Gulf News. With the likes of the Tongans and the mighty All Blacks for company, Arabian Gulf decided to travel to Wellington for a sevens tournament earlier this month. And it proved an invaluable experience, as Cooper explained.

"After we were drawn with Tonga and New Zealand, we realised we had to have a wake-up call because it had been a while since we played a Polynesian side. More than the strength of the squad, it's the strength of the individuals that will matter against them," he said.

"One-to-one situations will arise because they are super-strong, super-explosive teams and for us it was important that we experienced that physicality [in Wellington]. We started off slowly but now we know what's coming."