There will be more teams than ever before at this year’s Dubai Sevens with the installation of an eighth pitch at 7he Sevens Stadium.

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Work has begun on the new surface and tournament director Jim Fitzsimons said the amount of teams at the invitation tournament will rise from 224 in 2014 to 250 this year thanks to the work being carried out.

General pitch maintenance is also being carried out at the purpose-built venue, which is 8km from Dubai.

Fitzsimons says the tournament was at “stretching point” last year and that the new pitch will give a host of new teams from around the UAE and the world to come off the waiting list and enter the tournament for the first time.

“The new pitch means there will be more room and the tournament will go from 224 teams last year to 250 this year, which helps massively,” said Fitzsimons, who is also general manager at 7he Sevens.

“We were at stretching point in 2014 and although we will be again, there are lots of teams who have been on the waiting list for some years.

“This will always be the case as the Dubai Sevens is the biggest sevens tournament in the world and it’s a great weekend.”

Apart from the top quality rugby action at the event, there is also a holiday atmosphere at the Dubai Sevens, with plenty on show off the pitch for spectators.

In addition to the new pitch, work is now underway to get the venue ready for when the local sporting seasons resume in a few months, including introducing better lighting systems on all pitches.

“We will be ready for the Sevens but we will also be ready for the local sporting scene which kicks off in August. That is very important to us,” said Fitzsimons.

Fitzsimons said organisers are also planning a few more surprises for this year’s event, although he was remaining tight-lipped on the new additions.

“We’re looking mainly at pitch one and the production and bringing in some crowd pleasers. I’m sure the public will go away more than happy,” he said.