WIGTON half-back Tane Manihera will miss the club’s next two League matches – because he’s had an international call-up.

The 35-year-old Kiwi has been asked to join the Bali Legends squad for the Dubai Sevens Veterans competition over three days in early December.

He got the call from former Carlisle Border Raiders team-mate Brad Hepi, now coaching Hull Ionians, to check his availability for the trip.

Manihera said: “I’m really looking forward to it and have been getting a few facts and background on Dubai from our coach at Wigton, Malcolm Brown, who was there himself playing for a veterans side a few years ago.

“We fly out next Monday and the tournament is being held over three days from Thursday to Saturday and we we will back in Heathrow on the following Monday.

“I hven’t seen who we will be playing but there are teams from all over the world taking part and obviously there will be some top plyer involved.”

Manihera has been playing scrum-half this season for a Wigton side which has lost only once and leads the way in the North Lancs Cumbria League.

“It means I have to do a bit more runnning and more tackling, but I’m really enjoying and the fact that the team is doing so well is a big plus,” he says.

World record crowds, thrilling rugby action, entertainment second to none and an impressive new venue all ensured the 2008 Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens was an event to remember.

After 38 years at the Al Awir ground, the move to Emirates new, purpose-built venue, The Sevens, on the Al Ain Road proved to be a resounding success, with the spirit of the previous venue encapsulated in a bigger and better setting for one of the region’s greatest sporting and social events of the year.

The Sevens, which boasts six new pitches, saw over 130,000 fans streaming through its gates over the three days of the tournament.
Next week, 16 of the best Sevens international teams in the world will be back to thrill the crowds as they aim to get the 2009/2010 IRB Sevens World Series off to the best possible start.

The Dubai Sevens has grown into a superb event that not only attracts fans from around the globe but offers some of the best action – both on and off the pitch - anywhere on the planet. Away from the white-hot atmosphere of the international matches, competitions featuring International Invitation, Gulf, Local Social, Ladies, Veterans, and Youth teams will see all six pitches in almost constant use over three days from December 3-5.

Central to everything will be the main pitch which is transformed into the ultimate sporting arena for the tournament with the free-standing stadium built around a permanent 5,000 seat grandstand set to accommodate the world's most passionate rugby fans.

With fans flying in from all corners of the globe for the event, a jam-packed rugby village providing top-notch entertainment and the best Sevens action, you have a fabulous mix of sport and entertainment that will rock Dubai like never before.

And to complete the rugby extravaganza, the hugely popular 'Rugby Rock' concert will be held on the final night of the event to bring to a close the region's biggest party and sporting spectacle.

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