Last updated at 15:00, Wednesday, 25 November 2009

DUBAI HERE WE COME: Left to right Paul Dean, Aaron Low, and Paul Haythorn. Inset, Steve Perry JON GRANGER REF: 0512855

A QUARTET of Furness RL men will be leaving the rain of South Cumbria behind to represent their country in the sunshine of the Middle East.

Aaron Low, Steve Perry, Paul Dean and Paul Haythorn will be taking part in the Dubai International Sevens next weekend, swapping cloudy skies for near-30-degree heat in the United Arab Emirates.

Low will be representing the BARLA Lions, while Dean, Perry and Haythorn will be pulling on the shirts of the BARLA Bulldogs veterans team.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I’m really looking forward to it,” said Barrow Island player Haythorn, who, at 35, will be one of the youngest players in the Bulldogs squad.

“It’s going to be warm – a bit different to what it is like round here.”

The open age matches will be played as seven-a-side fixtures on full-sized pitches, while the veterans will play 10-a-side matches, including a clash with a side from Moscow.

“It’s a full-sized pitch and I don’t think it would be a good idea to have all the old folk running round in that heat,” joked Haythorn.

Games will run parallel to the Emirates Airlines Dubai Rugby Sevens, which features the top 16 rugby union sevens teams in the world – including England, Australia and defending champions South Africa – going head to head in front of 50,000 people.

It is the first time BARLA has been invited to send a team to the competition, which will see more than 2,000 players from across the globe competing over three days.

Low said he was really looking forward to the challenge, having toured the Ukraine with BARLA’s Under-23s side earlier this year.

“It’s great to get the chance,” he said. “It’s a step up from the under-23s to the open age side – it’s an honour.

“It’s going to be tough in the heat. I’ve been training quite hard to get my fitness up.

“It’s rugby union, which will be a bit different. I think the last rugby league side to be invited were St Helens in 2004 and they didn’t win it, so it is going to be a high standard.”

Like Haythorn, both Dean and Perry were eligible for the veterans side as they are still registered as players.

Perry is a key part of the Roose Pioneers team, while Dean is player/coach at Hindpool and he too is relishing the trip, having been selected following a meeting in Leeds.

“It was totally out of the blue. I’ve never toured or anything before,” he said.

“It’s the chance of a lifetime for me.”

GROUP MATCHES

December 3: Wooden Spoon Blues v BARLA Lions, Wyvern Harlequins v BARLA Lions, Swansea University Old Boys v BARLA Bulldogs, Moscow Lads v BARLA Bulldogs.

December 4: BARLA Lions v Moscow Region, Bone Steelers v BARLA Bulldogs.

First published at 12:54, Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk