NAIROBI, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Kenya Rugby Football Union (KRFU) has picked a 26-member provisional team to next year's Commonwealth Games in India and other international events.

    The national sevens team to the 2009/10 IRB World Series tournament in Dubai will also be named from the provisional squad.

    Kenya is drawn in the same pool with U.S, Russia and England in the sevens tournament, set for December 4-5 in Dubai.

    Kenya will also feature in the Safari Sevens here, Tangier Sevens in Morocco and Middlesex Sevens in England, among other events.

    Kenya, ranked sixth in the world, will face England and Russia in the 2009/10 IRB World Series rugby tournament in Dubai in December.

    It will be a tall order for Kenya, Africa's top-ranked nation in the rugby sevens as they take on England who finished third overall in last year's tournament.

    It's also a tough pool for Kenya because they will play the unpredictable Russia and the U.S. The fixtures have been released at a time when sevens rugby is seeking inclusion in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

    Kenya national sevens team captain, Humphrey Khayange, was among the rugby personalities picked by IRB to drum to push the rugby agenda at the recent International Olympic Committee (IOC) Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

    But Kenya coach Benjamin Ayimba is confident the national team will rise to the occasion in Dubai, more so because it's "a comfortable pool".

    "It is a comfortable pool as we have played the sides in past events and we are aware of their game so we shall play the best," he said.

    Having surpassed the target the team set last season, Ayimba, who at one time contemplated quitting coaching, said Kenya is looking forward to improving on last year's performance.

    But he was quick to point out that the team will not rest on its laurels simply because it has beaten England before.

    With three days to go before the IOC votes to decide whether or not sevens rugby will be included in the 2016 Olympics, IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset is praising Kenya, Argentina, USA and Russia for contributing to the revamping of the game.

    "The IRB Sevens World Series continues to go from strength to strength, attracting record levels of travelling fans and broadcast coverage each year and the popular Dubai event has been a major factor in that success," he said.

    "At a time when Sevens is reaching out for Olympic Games inclusion, the interest in the Series has never been higher thanks to the performances of Kenya, Argentina, USA and Russia in recent years. The Series truly is a global festival of world class rugby," said Lapasset.