Emirates Airlines Dubai Rugby Sevens - 2011 :

England men and Canadian women crowned champs

Hafiz Marikar

Record-breaking crowds,thrilling rugby action, entertainment second to none and an impressive purpose-built venue all ensure that each year the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens is an event to remember. The Dubai Sevens has grown into a magical event that not only attracts fans from around the globe but offers some of the best action - both on and off the pitch - anywhere on the planet. Away from the white-hot atmosphere of the IRB matches, competitions featuring over 160 International Invitation, Gulf, local social, ladies, veterans, and youth teams saw all six pitches in almost constant use over three compelling days from December 1-3.

Award-winning

England captain holding aloft the trophy

The Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens is regarded as one of the biggest party weekends of the year and the award-winning event also offers plenty for families as well. The Family Stand has enjoyed great success in recent years and the area has a capacity of 2,000 seats available for families wanting to enjoy the rugby together. Parents and children (up to the age of 12) were able to watch all the action in a dedicated, alcohol-free area. Central to everything was the main pitch which is transformed into the ultimate sporting arena for the tournament with the free-standing stadium built around a permanent 5,000 seat grandstand set to accommodate the world's most passionate rugby fans. With fans flying in from all corners of the globe for the event, a jam-packed rugby village providing top-notch entertainment and the best Sevens action, you have a fabulous mix of sport and entertainment that will rock Dubai like never before. England's men claimed their second consecutive Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens victory while the Canadian women's team won the first ever IRB Women's Sevens Challenge Cup title.

Magnificent

Much to the festive crowd's delight, England managed a magnificent defence of the title they claimed in Dubai last year with a 29-12 victory over France in the Cup final. The Englishmen were always in command of the match, going into the break 24-7 up and while France came back well at the beginning of the second half, the English consolidated the victory with another try.

Earlier in the day of 3rd December, England had defeated New Zealand in the quarterfinal and Fiji in the semifinal to book their spot in the final. France meanwhile had claimed an impressive win over South Africa in the quarterfinals before defeating Argentina in the semis.

In a reversal of the 2010 Plate final, it was Australia who took the title with a 17-14 win over South Africa while Scotland took the bowl with a 26-0 victory over USA and Samoa the shield after beating Kenya 31-17 in that final.

The Canadian women's side claimed their first ever IRB Women's Sevens Challenge Cup title after a 26-7 victory over England in the Cup final.

The Canadians had booked their spot in the final with a 36-0 victory over the USA in the semifinal while England overcame Australia 12-0 in their semifinal. ``Spain claimed the Plate title after a 28-0 victory over South Africa.

Fantastic

"This is what we have trained for. This is first time we have won almost anything and it is what we were working for," said an excited Canada captain Mandy Marchak."The girls worked really hard and were fantastic with their conditioning," added coach John Tait. ``The work they have done paid off and they got a little bit better every match."

Meanwhile in the invitation tournaments, the Christina Noble Children's Foundation team claimed their fifth consecutive International Vets title in emphatic fashion - without conceding a single point throughout the tournament. They defeated the Xodus Steelers 28-0 in the final.

The Jebel Ali Dragons claimed the Gulf Men's title after a 29-7 win over the Abu Dhabi Harlequins I team and Dubai College took the hotly contested Gulf Under 18 boys title, defeating defending champions British School Al-Khubairat 26-0 in the final. In the International Invitation tournament it was Dubai Samurai who took top honours with a 29-21 victory over hfw Wailers.

Canadian women celebrating

"We have been treated to a wonderful weekend of action once again and congratulations must go to the England men for a brilliant performance in claiming the Cup for a second consecutive year and Canada's women's team for claiming the inaugural IRB Women's Sevens Challenge Cup," said Gary Chapman, President Group Services, Emirates Group.

Tremendous

"The atmosphere has been tremendous and the thousands that have attended are testament to why the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens remains Dubai's favourite sporting event," added Chapman.

"We are also proud that the tournament has smashed the record for the number of live hours broadcast from a single round of the HSBC Sevens World Series with 222 hours of live television beamed to 120 countries."

As the action came to an end on pitch at the Sevens, the Million Dollar Band took to the stage for the ever-popular Rugby Rock concert as celebrations continued into the night.

What began over 40 years ago with a small band of British expatriates has grown into one of the premier Rugby Sevens events around the world. In 1970, with a handful of fans scattered along the touchline, it was the Staffordshire Regiment who were crowned the inaugural Dubai Rugby Sevens Champions.

Great growth

The tournament experienced great growth in the 1970s with new innovations appearing year by year. The first matches to be played on grass took place in 1995 and this was followed a year later by Dubai hosting a qualifying round of the World Cup Sevens. The event has continued to grow in strength each year. By 2006, with a full venue capacity of 32,000 at the old Al Awir venue, the tournament had officially tripled in size since 2001.

This rapid expansion continued from there, with the 2008 move to Emirates' purpose-built venue on Al Ain Road, `the Sevens', breaking a world record with crowds of over 50,000 spectators enjoying the action and the atmosphere each day.

England team rejoicing

The tournament has been voted Dubai's `Favourite Sporting Event' at the What's On Awards for eight years (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008, 2009, 2010).

New developments each year, including top-class entertainment and an ever-expanding rugby village, ensure the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens will remain one of the Middle East's top sporting and social events well into the future.

Merchandise

The official merchandise at the Dubai Sevens helped everyone the very best at the region's biggest sporting and social event.

There was a wide selection of top quality merchandise , shirts were designed and produced with the "Gilbert" brand, the oldest rugby company in the world with a history dating back to the infancy of the game.

Always popular are the ladies rugby shirts, which includes an exclusive range of apparel. The high-quality women's shirts were slim fitting and made in 100 per cent lightweight cotton - perfect for an event which requires plenty of stamina to keep pace with the energy of the crowd.