Carter impressed by facilities in Dubai

Dubai: All Blacks No 10 Dan Carter believes international teams could be fighting to play each other on the pitches being laid out at the state-of-the-art rugby complex, which is being constructed near Dubailand.

Work on the Emirates-funded complex is already underway and is expected to be completed by November next year - in time for the 2008 tournament and the 2009 IRB Sevens Rugby World Cup, which will be held in the country for the first time from March 5-7.

The as yet unnamed facility boasts of seven world-class pitches, including one main pitch with a permanent 10,000-seater stand.

A second pitch will be located inside what will appear as a bowl, enclosed on three sides by grassed embankments capable of holding a crowd of 15,000 spectators.

And Carter feels the drive will bolster Dubai's position as the sport's regional headquarters.

He said: "From what I see, as far as the sevens game is concerned, there seems to be a real sense of enjoyment and a great following here.

"People love the sport and also with the number of expats around, I think the stadiums might attract a number of international and professional teams. I'm sure they'd want to come here and play festival games.

"This is a great place for rugby; real hospitable and I feel the complex will only improve the following of rugby here, which will not only be great for the city, but also the sport."

Carter is planning to soak in as much as he can from his first visit to the city, with the Sevens tournament on top on his list of things-to-do.

And fans will be able to catch a glimpse of the man, billed as one of the best first-fives in world rugby at the moment.

Fast and furious

The 25-year-old has never played the fast and furious version of the game, but that doesn't prevent him from speaking passionately about it and its importance in producing great players. "I wasn't part of the sevens set-up and went pretty much from playing in high school to the 15s side," says Carter, who has played 44 Tests for the All Blacks and scored 676 points in the process.

"A lot of guys have played sevens and Super-14s in their professional careers and I miss that, but I love watching it because it is a great festival of rugby. Unfortunately, I haven't really had the chance to try it.

"This is my first trip to Dubai and I'm going to try and promote rugby here. I've been doing clinics with kids and I'm going to support New Zealand at the tournament and possibly be running water bottles for the team.

"It's definitely away with the boots here.

"I love it here in Dubai: it's a great place, the climate's great and I'm really enjoying it."