Dubai: The countdown to the start of the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens is well and truly on with teams fine-tuning their preparations for the traditional first leg of the IRB World Series.
England, France, Zimbabwe and Kenya were the last four sides to arrive in the emirate yesterday, although holders South Africa left nothing to chance by landing here as early as last Thursday.
The tournament gets under way tomorrow with action in the social cups and continues on Friday and Saturday with the commencement of the IRB competition.
South Africa kick off the defence of their Emirates International Trophy with the considerable advantage of being able to call on a hard core of experienced performers, including Springbok Sevens Player-of-the-Year Mzwandile Stick, former skipper Jonathan Mokuena, Fabian Juries, Danwell Demas and Schalk van der Merwe.
Coach Paul Treu has also been boosted by the decision to contract 13 of his country's leading exponents of the short-form of the game with one eye already on the 2009 IRB World Sevens Cup in Dubai.
Rivals New Zealand, Fiji and England, meanwhile, will all be without players who have been key to their successes in recent years.
Missing Afeleke
World Series champions New Zealand are missing IRB Sevens Player-of-the-Year, Afeleke Pelenise, who has a knee injury while Fiji are lacking the services of playmakers Waisale Serevi (retired) and William Ryder (not available).
England, winners in Dubai in 2004 and 2005, will also have a new look. World record points scorer Ben Gollings and Simon Amor, who has been such an inspirational presence for so many seasons, are now concentrating on 15s.
And that means Andy Vilk of Sale Sharks takes over the captaincy for what will be the 38th - and final - Sevens to be staged at the home of the Dubai Exiles.
The Wales Sevens squad will have the first chance to impress new national head coach Warren Gatland, who is stopping off in Dubai on Saturday en route for Cardiff from New Zealand.
