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IRB Sevens World Series

Wales and New Zealand will go head-to-head again when they clash in their opening IRB Sevens World Series Pool D match in Dubai on Friday.

Kath McCarthy | 28/11/2006

Wales and New Zealand will go head-to-head again when they clash in their opening IRB Sevens World Series Pool D match in Dubai on Friday.

The match - the fifth game on Day 1 of the first tournament in the 2006 / 2007 series - will come just six days after the two nations met at the Millennium Stadium in the final match of Wales' autumn series.

New Zealand will be the Pool D favourites, with Richie Pugh and his Wales squad also up against Samoa and the Arabian Gulf on Day 1.

Pool C's South Africa, Argentina, Canada and Tunisia lie in store in Saturday's quarter finals for the top two in Pool D, the winners and the runners up from each group meeting each other for a place in the last four.

Dubai is one of six tournaments Wales will compete in the IRB Sevens Series this season – and along with Dubai will compete in George (South Africa), Adelaide, Hong Kong, Scotland and England.

Wales burst back onto the Sevens scene last year in their first season back in Sevens action since 2002, lifting the Plate Trophy in all four tournaments they competed in at Dubai, George, the Commonwealth Games and Hong Kong.

Wales Sevens Head Coach Dai Rees said: "Our objectives are to ensure the development of a number of youngsters, which comes from exposing them to a world class competition environment.

"If two or three of our Sevens squad become established regional players by this time next year - or even further progress into the senior Wales squad as James Hook has done - we will have done our job."

Wales Sevens squad: Richie PUGH (CAPT, OSPREYS), Lee BEACH (OSPREYS), Gareth CHAPMAN (DRAGONS), Jonathan EDWARDS (LLANELLI RFC), James HARRIS (DRAGONS ACADEMY / Bedwas RFC), Thomas JAMES (BLUES ACADEMY / Cardiff RFC), Alec JENKINS (SCARLETS ACADEMY / Llanelli RFC), Rhodri McATEE (PENZANCE), Richard MUSTOE (OSPREYS), Tal SELLEY (OSPREYS) , Aled THOMAS (DRAGONS), Martyn THOMAS (SCARLETS ACADEMY / Llanelli RFC), Lee WILLIAMS (SCARLETS ACADEMY / Llanelli RFC).

Wales Sevens Team Management: Head Coach: Dai Rees; Assistant coach: Gareth Baber

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