Guide to Emirates Dubai Rugby 7s December 2021

Following the first round of the HSBC World Sevens Series 2022 (held in Dubai behind closed doors and replacing the Cape Town event), the second event is open to the public and takes place from 3-4 December 2021 – here is our guide to the Emirates Dubai 7s.

We look at the Emirates Dubai Rugby 7s 2021 pools following the success of the South African men and Australian women in the first round. The pools and tournament format will be the same in the second round of the Series which again will include 12 men’s and 10 women’s teams at the Emirates Stadium.

Dubai Emirates Sevens Rugby – HSBC World Sevens Series Round 1 Results

The Blitzboks defeated 2018 Dubai runners-up USA in the men’s final this past weekend with a resounding 42-7 victory to clinch a third consecutive Series gold medal and extend their unbeaten streak to 18 games.

South Africa captain Siviwe Soyizwapi said: “It was a really good weekend for the boys. We took a little while to get into our stride but today we really picked up and implemented what we have worked on. We are really happy with the final, that’s how we want to play the game. We really work hard on our conditioning and our style of play and it paid off in the end.”

Image Credit: World Rugby Sevens Series – Blitzbokke win Dubai Rugby Sevens 2021

The Australian women also had some redemption for a poor Olympics in Tokyo and beat Fiji in the final 22-7.

Australia captain Demi Hayes said “The girls did great and I’m so proud of them. Our wider squad goes from 1 to 20 and every person played a part in that win. I feel lucky and proud to lead them out. We’re definitely looking forward to next weekend but we won’t be putting ourselves on a pedestal, we’ll keep our expectations low and just focus on performing each and every game to try to get that win.”

The Japanese men were the only Asian representation, and following their shock of not qualifying for the RWC Sevens 2022, they lost all of their matches in Dubai at the first event.

Image Credit: World Rugby Sevens Series- Australia women claim gold at Emirates Dubai 7s 2021

See the full results from the first round in Dubai here.

Emirates Dubai Rugby 7s – December 2021 Pools

The 12-team men’s competition will follow the Olympic format with three pools of four teams each, while the 10-team women’s event sees the teams divided into two pools of five.

New Zealand’s men’s and women’s teams and Samoa men’s are again unable to participate due to the challenges of the COVID-19 travel logistics.

Women’s Emirates Dubai Rugby 7s Dec 2021 Pools

Pool A

• Australia
• Russia
• Brazil
• Canada
• Spain

Pool B

• Fiji
• France
• Great Britan
• USA
• Ireland

For all of the fixtures and match schedule see here.

Men’s Emirates Dubai Rugby 7s 2021 Dec Pools

Pool A

• South Africa
• Great Britain
• Ireland
• Japan

Pool B

• USA
• Australia
• Kenya
• Canada

Pool C

• Argentina
• Fiji
• France
• Spain

For all of the fixtures and match schedule see here.

Image Credit: World Rugby Sevens Series

After the second round in Dubai, the World Series will take a break before returning in January 2022 when a pair of new host cities will welcome the Series in the Spanish cities of Malaga and Seville on 21-23 and 28-30 January respectively.

Festival of Sport – Emirates Dubai Rugby 7s 2021

The Emirates Dubai 7s will also feature rugby teams from across the world playing at all levels such as social women and men’s rugby 7s, vets rugby 10s, and youth rugby. The GCC Divisions and International divisions are played over 3 days.

There is also cricket and netball played across the weekend as more than 100 000 visitors are expected over the course of the weekend.

There are several divisions of rugby but it’s worth keeping an eye out for former England captain Dylan Hartley who is coaching the Dnata Bali Legends, while Mike Phillips is playing for the HGB Legends. The 100 world legends roster of players includes Ben Gollings, Delon Armitage, and the legendary Waisale Serevi (who it was recently announced has been interviewed for the Fiji Sevens Coaching role).

100 World Legends Dubai Expo 2020

Its likely several visitors to the Sevens will take the chance to explore the massive Dubai Expo. The 100 World Legends will be there on Wednesday 1st December with a kids session and an evening Q&A at the Garden on 1 Restaurant.

The 100 World Legends are in Dubai supporting and working with the members of the Heroes of Hope charity.

Image Credit: 100 World legends

Free Transport – Emirates Dubai Rugby 7s 2021

The organisers have made a number of shuttle busses available for fans to reach the Emirates Stadium in Dubai for the weekend of the Festival of Sport and the Rugby 7s.

Image Credit: Emirates Dubai Rugby 7s

Emirates Dubai 7s App

The organisers of the Sevens have released a very useful app for visitors. To download the ‘Emirates Dubai 7s App’ follow the instructions on the link and access your ticket(s).

Please note the digital ticket is the only way to gain entry to this year’s Emirates Dubai 7s festival. The App provides find fixtures, results, news and the full entertainment line-up.

Entertainment at the Emirates Dubai Sevens 2021

Sevens rugby events, aside from the world-class rugby on show, is synonymous with top-class entertainment and fans having a great time. The Sevens in Dubai have a bill including live music and international DJs including former England rugby international James Haskell.

The sevens will feature four stages in 2021 with different genres of music including Beats on 2 (Pitch 2), Frequency on 8 (Pitch 1 on Friday), as well as Rugby Rock and Heineken Tavern.

Image Credit: Emirates Dubai Rugby 7s

How to watch the Emirates Dubai Sevens 2021 Rugby?

World Rugby says that rugby sevens fans around the world can watch the action via live stream on World Rugby digital platforms including www.world.rugby, YouTube and Facebook in countries where there is no national broadcaster covering the event.

Rugby Tournaments 2021-2022

• Rugby World Cup 2021 Final Qualification Tournament.
• Asia Rugby Sevens UAE Trophy 2021 Pools.
• Dialog Asia Rugby Sevens Series 2021 Results.
• Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2022 rescheduled.