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The British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) has announced that they will be sending two teams to the Dubai Sevens early next month.

The BARLA Great Britain Lions and newly formed BARLA Bulldogs have accepted invitations to join the world famous event which kicks-off from 3-5 of December.

The Lions will participate in the Open level competition, whilst the Bulldogs squad is made up of players who are over thirty five years of age still currently playing rugby league, and will compete in the 10s competition.

This is the first ever international rugby league side from Great Britain to be invited to the event. Super League side St Helens is the only other rugby league side to have played in in Dubai in 2004. Under Ian Millward they reached the final of this International Invitational event before being downed 33-19 by the Kentz Drifters – a team of Pacific Islanders.

BARLA Great Britain International Manager Mick Turner is particularly excited by the invitation and is looking forward to the exposure it could give to Rugby League’s amateurs.

“The Lions and the Bulldogs have been invited to this blue riband event, it’s a great opportunity for BARLA and our sponsors to get some international coverage and follow in the footsteps of St Helens and play in a prestigious competition. We are going there as representatives and ambassadors of the country and we hope everyone in rugby league and rugby union will get behind us.

“We have decided on the title BARLA Bulldogs for the over 35s. The idea behind this is to aim at retention of players. Hopefully players may play an extra season or two to get an opportunity like this should this be an annual tournament," added Turner. 

Lions Head Coach, John Fieldhouse, has picked a young and talented squad with plenty of speed to make the transition to Sevens an easy one.

“My ethos as in anything I enter is that we are going there to win and then have a good time. When you pick a trophy up it makes all things a lot sweeter," said Fieldhouse.