So a new chapter in the IRB Sevens World Series story begins as the 2009/10 season kicks off in spectacular fashion at its usual haunt in Dubai. Full of ritz and glitz Dubai has become a perennial favourite when Rugby Sevens is in town and this year is set to be no different – despite the financial headache the region is going through.

A week later and it’s time to pack our bags and head to the quiet coastal town of George for the South African leg of the Series. Two deeply contrasting locations but both stunning stages for some of the most skilled craftsmen in the Sevens game.

I’m pretty lucky boy. This season I’ll have an armchair view in the stadium from all 8 locations around the globe. As well as offering my thoughts on Sevens in general I look forward to using these blogs to give you a sort of behind-the-scenes glimpse of what is happening at each tournament on the IRB Sevens World Series.

As much as my mates want to constantly tell me I have the dream set-up, I am (sometimes contrary to opinion) there to do a job so to speak. I’ll be providing, as I did in San Diego, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, and Edinburgh last year, a Live Text Commentary of the entire goings on each day of the tournament. You won’t miss a thing as I talk you through all the major matches, the big hits, the stunning scores, the streakers, fancy-dress and all the craic around the stadium.

I’ll really hope I can give you a glimpse of what these 8 very different but very special events are all about.

I’ll be heading to the deserts of Dubai tomorrow and will give you some updates filling over the next couple of weeks. The shades, flip-flop and Mummy’s First Aid kit are all packed and it’s go time!

As you should all well know this will be the first IRB Sevens campaign since Sevens became an Olympic sport, which only adds to hype and expectation. Looking down the squad sheets for George and Dubai and I’m licking my lips. There seems to be a real continuity in selection from last year for a lot of teams which means standards are set to go north yet again.

Movers and Shakers

Although Sevens has developed considerably in an international context in terms of physicality and the multiple skill factor required, one aspect of the sport which will always continue to fascinate is speed.

Gas, wheels, va-va-voom call it what you may, but nothing gets the fans going quite as much as the raw pace of this sport.

Last year’s top man was undoubtedly Collins Injera. He’s as sharp as they comes and was comfortably last year’s leading hit-man going over the whitewash 42 times. Closely behind him was IRB Sevens all-time leading try man Santiago Gomez Cora who is always there and thereabouts. Yes both these men have bags full of pace but the reason they score so often is that they are complete players who can kick, support, and have that uncanny ability to be there at the right time.

So when you hear of a new breed of speed merchants set to blaze apart the IRB stage, I’m sometimes skeptical. A winger at this level needs to be the complete package to be the considered the very best of the best.

Watch out for Wade

If there’s one guy that might just join that top echelon though is England’s 18-year-old Christian Wade.

I spoke to him last week and he is chomping at the bit to be making his International Sevens debut. I’ve followed him throughout the 2009 European season and the Wasps man has really impressed in Bournemouth, Rosslyn Park, Manchester, and at Middlesex for his club and Samurai.

‘Obviously it will be a big step up, but playing in these events has given me some confidence. Here with England our preparation is obviously a lot more thorough and we are building a good foundation which will help me and gives me confidence,’ says Wade.

Wade is quick. Very quick, believe me.  He has impressed with England Under 18s and 20s and with Wasps Academy. He was also into his athletics a few years back and was one of the fastest school boys in England and thought about actually pursuing track and field. With a lightening step to match and hands that have been groomed from years of Basketball you’re starting to get a picture to what kind of athlete we might have on our hands.

“It’s quite nerve racking coming into this environment with Ben Gollings, Chris Cracknell, and Damu as last year I was watching them on TV.

“I’m aware of the pressures that might occur when I’m playing on this big stage but I’m just going to get out there and enjoy it and I’ve got my team around me to help me do well.”

Perhaps it won’t happen to Wade as it’s not the English mentality, but you only have to look at what happened to someone like Luke Morahan from Australia to show how these strike runners can catch the eye.

The then 18-year-old Morahan was the standout player on the IRB Sevens circuit for the first half of last year, scoring 27 tries in the tournaments that he played in. Such is the Southern Hemisphere way to accelerate talented individuals through, he was soon drafted into the Super 14 with the Queensland Reds and he finishes 2009 on tour with the Wallabies in Europe.

It just shows you what an opportunity for the likes of Wade, JW Jonker, and Ed Quirk and the rest to make a name for themselves over the next few weeks. It’s unfair to put too much pressure on them but I can’t wait to see some tracks catch fire from this season’s new breed.