Rugby fans are being given the chance to rub (very large) shoulders with stars from the past, including Austin Healey, Percy Montgomery, Will Greenwood, Welshman Dafydd James and Apollo Perelini from Samoa at a gala dinner. Tables of ten will enjoy a three-course dinner and live music from swing and jazz singer Cole Page and New Zealand band CVE.

Ahead of the event, we caught up with two of the players involved.

DAFYDD JAMES
What do you love about Sevens rugby? It’s a great spectacle. The rugby is high impact, fast flowing and has lots of tries. It’s no surprise that it’s now an Olympic sport.

Who are your tip to win the Dubai Sevens? The key sides to watch will be Samoa, New Zealand and England. The key players in the vets tournament will be Jason Robinson [England], and Caleb Ralph [New Zealand].

What did you love about playing Sevens? It gave me the opportunity to play against the best in the world, develop my skills and travel the world. I believe all youngsters should play it.

What costume would you wear to the Sevens? Probably Batman the caped crusader.

APOLLO PERELINI
What do you love about Sevens rugby? It’s fast and furious with so little time to rest and few places to hide. And you get more tries scored in a shorter time.

Who are the players to watch? There are many new faces on the Sevens circuit every year but DJ Forbes from New Zealand is always the man.

What did you love about playing Sevens?  The freedom of space was a joy for me. However, it was daunting having to cover so much space when defending. Playing Sevens was no different from me and my cousins playing rugby in the backyard, except my cousins could hit very hard and knock you into the fence, breaking the panels then having to face Dad when he came home from work.

What costume would you wear to the Sevens? Batman.

Grand Hyatt, Dubai
Tel: (050) 1047206. Metro: Dubai Healthcare City.
November 28, 7pm, Dhs7500 for table of ten, including beverages. 
urbanevents.ae