New Arabian Gulf Sevens coach Shane 'Junior' Thornton has announced the make-up of the country's men's and women's teams to compete at their home event, the upcoming Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens, on 4-5 December.
The Dubai event again kicks off a new IRB Sevens World Series - the first since the sport of Sevens won admission to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
Just over half of the Arabian Gulf men's squad played at the Rugby World Cup Sevens held in Dubai in March, but the captaincy role will now be fulfilled by Australian Sean Hurley.
Hurley will be joined in the line-up by World Cup teammates Marcus Smith, Josh Sherrin, Stephen Cooper and Chris Gregory. Jonny McDonald is also making the trip back from his university studies to play with his former teammates.
Thornton has also brought in youngster Khaled Helal after he impressed on international debut with the 15-a-side team in this year's HSBC Asian 5 Nations. Former Gloucester centre Duncan Murray is also in the squad.
Thornton: Positive attitude
"All the players are motivated and ready for the upcoming competition, they've been turning up at training with an open and positive attitude and I'm pleased to say that I have seen developments in both individual players and the team as a whole," said Thornton.
The Gulf will play on day one in the toughest of pools against reigning Sevens World Cup holders Wales, current IRB Sevens World Series champions South Africa and Australia, but the coach is undeterred.
"It's a challenge and we see it as such, they are all extremely talented sides but we'll focus on one game at a time," he said.
The Women's Sevens team has undergone only one change to the team that competed at the recent Bangkok International Sevens, Shannon Lowe replacing veteran Candi Fanucci.
Coming off the back of their impressive performance in Thailand, the women will have an eventful tournament playing the likes of Kenya, Rugby Ecosse, the Wooden Spoon Society and the Georgian National side.
Arabian Gulf Men's Squad: S. Hurley (Dragons), M. Smith (Exiles), J. Sherrin (Hurricanes), J. McDonald (AD Harlequins), B. Kraemer (Dragons), S. Cooper (Exiles), C. Gregory (Hurricanes), D. Murray (Hurricanes), S. Stapleton (Bahrain), James Love (Hartpury College), J. Dransfield (Hurricanes), K. Helal (English College). First Reserves - T. Otton (Dragons), S. Gibb (Dragons)
Arabian Gulf Women's Squad: B. Johnson (Hurricanes), H. Myers (Hurricanes), L. Bell (Hurricanes), N. Haradine (Hurricanes), J. Thompson (Hurricanes), Y. Smith (Hurricanes), S. Bootham (AD Harlequins), E. Uren (AD Harlequins), J. Matheson (AD Harlequins), K. Davey (AD Harlequins), S. Adrendt (Kuwait), S. Lowe (Toa)
