Dubai Rugby Sevens 2023: Tickets, fixtures, entertainment and which teams are playing

The Emirates Dubai Sevens is back this weekend and will be bigger and better than ever thanks to an extended programme of events.

The competition will again be the first of the rebranded, eight-leg HSBC SVNS World Series when it takes place from December 1-3 at The Sevens Stadium.

The National Day weekend event will have another new sport added. In recent years netball, cricket and cross-fit competitions have joined what was once a rugby-only event for the best part of 50 years. A padel tournament will take place for the first time this year.

There are nearly 5,000 players scheduled to take part across the sports, with 100,000 spectators expected to attend across the three days.

Twenty-four of the best international rugby sevens teams – 12 men's and 12 women's – will descend on Dubai.

Following successive titles in 2021 and 2022, South Africa will be bidding for a hat-trick, and have been grouped with reigning series champions, New Zealand, Samoa, and Canada in Pool A.

Ireland, last year’s men’s runners-up, will face Argentina, Australia, and Spain in Pool B, while Pool C consists of France, the United States, Fiji, and Britain.

In the women's events, reigning Dubai champions Australia have been drawn alongside Ireland, Japan, and Brazil in Pool B. World champions New Zealand, who finished runners-up in Dubai last year, are in Pool A with Fiji, Britain, and South Africa while Canada, Spain, USA, and France make up Pool C.

Multiple competitions taking place at once across the various pitches – make sure to pick up your programme for full details. However, in the elite competitions, all of the pool matches will take place on Saturday, December 2, with the knockout games the following day.

The women's semi-finals take place