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For the first time in its history the Rugby World Sevens will feature a female competition alongside the men’s teams at Dubai’s ‘The Sevens’. Sixteen teams have battled through an intense qualification process that took in 83 other nations, according to the IRB.

Chairman of Rugby World, Bernard Lapasset, is especially excited of the growth potential of the women’s game.

“It’s experiencing unprecedented global growth at the moment and standards are raising year on year. It is going to be extremely difficult to call who will be crowned the first Women's Rugby World Cup Sevens champions."

England can consider themselves contenders and possess a coaching dream team in former men’s coach Mike Friday, and veteran sevens international Simon Amor. They look set to face a testing time in Pool B tackling speedsters Russia, the powerful USA, and an unknown quantity in Japan.

"We saw Russia play in the European Sevens, and they proved to be a real tough side. Although we've never played them it was obvious that they have got some real talent, with some powerful forwards and some really quick players.

"The USA are also one of our biggest rivals. They are a side we have played a few times and they are a threat, they have a great tradition in sevens rugby,” said Amor.

Amor hopes that if England progress to the final stages they will be battle hardened for the likes of Australia and New Zealand.

Captain Sue Day is also under no illusions of the task that lay before her team when assessing the competition as a whole.

“It looks like a tough pool, although I suppose they are all pretty tough groups and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

"Looking at Pool A with Australia, I know we have not had opportunity to play them because there is not so much competitive Sevens, but Australia are very strong and I think they beat New Zealand in their qualifier and we know that New Zealand have a strong Sevens team.”

"It’s hard to comment on the others because I know less about South Africa and Uganda, the same about Brazil and Thailand. Spain and Italy are known to us and we know New Zealand are strong as are Canada.

"I think because funding is unequal it tends to be more in the regions that you play each other. The exception has been USA and Canada, who do get around the world quite a bit and that is what is so wonderful about the World Cup, you get to challenge yourself against the best in the world."

Pool A: Australia, Netherlands, France, China
Pool B: England, Japan, Russia, USA
Pool C: Canada, Brazil, Spain, Thailand
Pool D: New Zealand, South Africa, Italy, Uganda