Thursday 5 March 2009

World Cup 7s - Day Four

A 6.30am alarm call is not greeted well - I do not do mornings, but a yet another meeting at the teams' hotel at 8am means an early start for the officials team.

The morning is taken up with a referees' meeting to clarify protocol, etc, before a 45-minute journey to the ground for a run-through and familiarisation exercise. Everything goes well and a quick game of touch rugby on the pitch gives everyone the chance to stretch their legs.

The facilities here are amazing. The stadium was purpose-built for the Dubai 7s, but they've added a lot of extra facilities for the World Cup. The work behind the scenes is simply mindblowing, and now the team is here everyone is just keen to get started.

The afternoon provides some welcome relief from rugby, with a 4x4 desert safari organised.
Now I'm not one for fairground rides (a carousel is as adventurous as I get) so my stomach takes a pasting as they throw the jeeps up and down, over and side by side - but it's well worth it and gives everyone the chance to free their minds from the tournament for a few hours.

The trip finishes at 9pm, so by the time we arrive back at the hotel, everyone is well and truly beat.

My head hits the pillow and the next thing I know it's 8am on Thursday - never underestimate the value of a good night's sleep!

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