ground running in Dubai in a couple of weeks time." Lagougine: A global reason to embrace women's rugby France recently lost out to England in a tight 15-a-side test and will once again be their main competition in the Six Nations, but in Sevens they have less of a proven track record. "The Dubai Rugby Sevens is a part of our preparation for the Seven World Cup in 2013. We need to compete with the best and Dubai makes it possible," said France captain, Anas Lagougine. "I think that the women's Series is going to allow women's rugby to be watched all over the world. It's going to develop the level of rugby and, like the Olympic Games, it is going to give countries a good reason to embrace women's rugby." The inaugural IRB Women's Sevens World Series does mark a giant leap forward for Women's Rugby and highlights the growth of the sport since its inclusion in the Olympics. "Since Rugby was announced as an Olympic sport a few years ago we've seen a lot of countries put a lot more effort into their women's programmes," said Lane, who is now contemplating a first four-year cycle towards Rio 2016. "This effort will be evident at the tournament in Dubai where I have no doubt we'll see the standard and the intensity taken to a whole new level. "The new IRB Women's Sevens Series is a fantastic addition to the Women's Sevens calendar that will continue to help grow and