 Hong Kong Sevens Logo |
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| Sport | Rugby sevens |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1976 |
| No. of teams | 24 |
| Country(ies) | 22 countries |
| Most recent champion(s) |  Fiji |
| Official website | www.hksevens.com |
The Hong Kong Sevens (Chinese: 香港國際七人欖球賽) (referred to as Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens for sponsorship reasons) is considered the premier tournament on the IRB Sevens World Series in rugby union. It is held annually at the last weekend of March in Hong Kong and is organised by the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU). The tournament lasts 2 and a half days, commencing on a Friday afternoon, and concluding on the Sunday evening.
Bill McLaren, in his autobiography Talking of Rugby writes at length about his Hong Kong Sevens experiences:
- "I remember a big South Sea islander saying that, in his view, the Hong Kong sevens were really the Olympic games of Rugby Union. Certainly, the Hong Kong event encapsulates all the really good things that the game has to offer —splendid organisation, wonderful sporting spirit, universal camaraderie, admirable field behaviour, the most enjoyable crowd participation, the chance for emergent rugby nations to lock horns with the mighty men of New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Wales, Scotland and the Barbarians. There is, too, scintillating running and handling which is what the game is supposed to be all about."[1]
Contents |
History
The Hong Kong Seven heads were established in 1976 after a discussion between the chairman of the HKRFU, South African entrepreneur, A.D.C. "Tokkie" Smith, Duncan McTavish (HKRFC then captain) and Ian Gow, a Rothmans' Tobacco company executive. Gow wanted his firm to sponsor a rugby tournament with top teams from throughout the world. McTavish and Smith suggested that a Rugby sevens tournament would be logistically more feasible and be a better spectacle than a 15-a-side tournament. After an initial proposal was refused by the Rugby Football Union in England, the HKRFU changed focus and sent out invitations to Asian and Pacific sides.
On 28th, March, 1976, clubs from Indonesia, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Japan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Fiji participated in the first Hong Kong Sevens Tournament at the Hong Kong Football Club in Happy Valley sponsored by Rothmans' Tobacco and Cathay Pacific. This was an important step as this was one of the first rugby tournaments that attracted commercial sponsorship. Of the countries represented in the inaugural sevens tournament, only Australia and New Zealand did not send national sides, instead being represented by the Wallaroos and the Cantabrians respectively. These two clubs met in the final where the Cantabrians won 24-8.
The series then grew into a competition with national representative sevens sides competing, and with this growth, the tournament moved to the Hong Kong Government Stadium in 1982.
The Hong Kong Sevens were ahead of their time, and an influential force in the modernisation of rugby union, for example, the Hong Kong Sevens were one of the first rugby union tournaments to attract major sponsorship, when the airline Cathay Pacific sponsored the 1976 tournament.[2] They also provided a level of cosmopolitan international competition, which tended not to exist in rugby before the first Rugby World Cup in 1987,[3] especially since Hong Kong was not seen as one of the "Big Eight", and other than some involvement with France, the British Commonwealth teams tended to be notoriously clannish. By 1986, the Hong Kong Sevens were held up as a positive example to others:
- "This Seven-a-Side international tournament is without a doubt the most spectacular, exotic, best organized Rugby competition of its kind in the world, and it has consistently produced the highest standard of Sevens Rugby seen anywhere.
- "I was not surprised on my first visit to see quality play from the Australian, New Zealand, Fijian, and British players, but I was staggered at the amazingly high quality play produced by countries I never even knew played Rugby. South Korea and Western Samoa were every bit as good as Japan and Tonga. Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore found their lack of sheer size and bulk an insuperable handicap, but against each other they displayed a range of running and handling skills which demanded unqualified praise. Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka and the Solomon Islands were inevitably outgunned by the teams from the major Rugby-playing nations but they still have a remarkably high level of skill which promises well for the future of the game."
- "The week of the Hong Kong tournament allows 24 Rugby-playing nations to intermingle for several days, and the huge cross-fertilisation of ideas can only be beneficial in the long term for the emerging nations. After the first day of the play when the top eight seeded teams meet the smaller fish in a pool system, the second day is divided into three different competitions... The strength of this great tournament is that on the opening day the most famous players in the world share a pitch with unknown opponents from countries where Rugby is a minority sport... While tournaments like the Hong Kong Sevens continue to be played, Rugby administrators can be confident that the game will continue to thrive in over 100 countries worldwide."[3]
However, despite this apparent diversity, some of the same old problems which had dogged international rugby were still manifest in the Hong Kong Sevens in the 1980s - for example, in a photograph of the Hong Kong vs Bahrain game at the tournament in 1984, the teams do not appear to include anyone who is ethnically Arabian or Chinese, instead both teams are quite clearly of northern European ethnic origin.[4]
In 1994, the venue was deemed too small for the tournament and was rebuilt into a 40,000 seat stadium now named the Hong Kong Stadium. Today, 24 national representative sides compete in the tournament.
In 1997 and 2005, the Hong Kong Sevens was not held; taking its place was the IRB Rugby World Cup Sevens, which Hong Kong hosted in both years. Fiji won both World Cup Sevens tournaments held in Hong Kong.
Dressing Up/Party Atmosphere/The South Stand
The Hong Kong Rugby Sevens is traditionally one of if not the biggest event on the Hong Kong sporting calendar. As such, there is a tremendous party atmosphere, with particular emphasis on the South Stand, where hordes of rugby fans dress up and dance for most of the duration. Activities that typically ensue as the weekend progresses include the throwing of empty beer jugs around the South Stand, Mexican waves, and streakers running across the pitch. Since 2007 the South Stand has been made officially accessible to over-18s only, due to its hyper and somewhat provocative atmosphere, although this rule is not strictly policed.
The Hong Kong Sevens typically draws the biggest crowd and is the biggest party on the IRB Seven's Calendar.
Summaries
A developing ground for young players
Sevens has proved to be a very fertile ground for nurturing young players [5]. For New Zealand, Jonah Lomu [6] ,Christian Cullen,Zinzan Brooke, John Schuster, Rodney So'oialo, Josevata Rokocoko,Mils Muliaina and Rico Gear were first introduced to the international game of Sevens. For Australia, former Australian captain George Gregan first demonstrated his ability at the Hong Kong Sevens in the same team as Joe Roff and Ben Tune. Sevens launched the careers of Rupeni Caucau, Napolioni Nalaga, Sireli Bobo, Noa Nadruku, Joeli Vidiri, William Ryder,Marika Vunibaka and Vilimoni Delasau to name just a few Fijians. For England, Lawrence Dallaglio, Matt Dawson, Austin Healey, Josh Lewsey, Mathew Tait and David Strettle have developed their game in the shortened code. For Wales, Jamie Roberts, James Hook has gone on to play at fly-half for his national team after playing in the Hong Kong Sevens [7]. South Africa, also, have seen Jean De Villiers, Bryan Habana, Ricky Januarie, Brent Russell and Kabamba Floors showcase their variety of skills at the event.
The game of Rugby sevens naturally encourages players to run at their opponents with ball in hand. These skills are crucial to the fifteen-a-side game, but are rarely experienced by young players in the fifteen-a-side game.
See also
External links
- Hong Kong Sevens Profile on UR7s.com
- Hong Kong Rugby Sevens Coverage
- Manu Samoa Rugby Supporters Website
- Hong Kong Rugby Sevens Pictures
- Rugby7.com - Hong Kong: The Greatest - History
References
Printed sources
- Starmer-Smith, Nigel (ed) Rugby - A Way of Life, An Illustrated History of Rugby (Lennard Books, 1986 ISBN 0 7126 2662 X)
Footnotes
- ^ McLaren, Bill Talking of Rugby (1991, Stanley Paul, London ISBN 0 09 173875 X), p 166
- ^ Starmer-Smith, p144
- ^ a b Starmer-Smith, p142
- ^ Starmer-Smith, p146
- ^ "History of Hong Kong Sevens". http://www.hksevens.com/General-Info-History-History.htm.
- ^ "Lomu: A giant on any stage". allblacks.com. http://www.rwcsevens.com/History/Great+Players/lomu.htm. Retrieved 22 July 2006.
- ^ "Welsh Rugby Union: Wales Squad for Hong Kong Sevens 2006". http://www.wru.co.uk/114_6904.php.
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