Long flights - but big smiles! It's almost Sevens time. Just three days to go, and the teams have been arriving in town, ready for Dubai's biggest sports festival of the year.
The teams have been arriving all weekend, and final preparations for this week's Emirates Dubai Rugby Sevens will be taking place at various locations around Dubai, including 7he Sevens stadium itself.
Among the first to arrive we're the USA women's team. For them it is the start of their season, with Dubai hosting the first round of the new IRB Women's Sevens World Series season.
"It's been a long flight - 13 hours - but we're delighted to be in Dubai," said team manager Joanne Kos. "We're really looking forward to the tournament, it's a fantastic event, and we're here to win it!
"OK, so the New Zealanders are favourites, but we had a good World Cup, finishing third, and preparations have been going well ahead of flying out to Dubai, so we're all really excited."
The USA will be among 12 teams competing in their tournament, while England will be among 16 taking part in the second round of the HSBC Sevens World Series.
"It's great to be back in Dubai," said Head Coach Simon Amor, twice a winner as a player in Dubai, when he was England's captain. "We've had a productive time together after Australia, and we've done a lot of hard work, so we're looking forward to the tournament."
The Emirates Dubai Rugby Sevens gets underway on Thursday, with Pool matches in the IRB Women's Sevens World Series, and the start of the Invitation Tournament. Entry on Thursday is free. The Women's tournament reaches it's climax on Friday, with the men's HSBC Sevens World Series tournament getting underway.
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