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Robby Nimmo

An oft-heard groan of the Sevens enthusiast is a wistful 'for my sins' as he/she contemplates some or other mis-step or regrettable choice. The boo-boos, pitfalls and hazards  leading to such rueful moments are so varied and numerous that we need a whole new directory of Sevens-specific sins to accommodate them. So here it is, our miscellany of all the perils to steer clear of this weekend:

1 Coming to the Sevens with your wife/husband/boyfriend/girlfriend.

2 Forgetting you had a wife/husband/boyfriend/girlfriend.

3 Getting 'lippy' with people in the seats around you. Banter is good, nasty is not.

4 Putting an embarrassing love confession on the big screen in front of 40,000 people.

5 Telling her/him it's off on the big screen in front of 40,000 people.

6 Forgetting you brought the kids.

7 Forgetting you had kids.

8 Dropping your phone in your beer.

9 Switching off your phone when people are trying to meet up with you.

10 Leaving your girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband out of the flat/hotel with no key.

11 Leaving your tickets in the taxi on the way to the stadium (major sin numero uno. What were you thinking!!).

12 Wearing a skimpy outfit (ladies) as substantial as dental floss and deferring the de-furring of the required areas (hot wax is for more than surfboards).

13 Dipping out of your round of drinks. 'Long arms and short pockets do not a good rugby friend make.'

14 Not looking after your mates when they've over-indulged. If they're handling walking on any surface like a dog on a shiny linoleum floor, assist, assist, assist. And never forget the rugby adage, 'what happens on tour stays on tour'.

15 Leaving your mates out on their own in Wan Chai, Soho, Lan Kwai Fong etc. Put 'em in a cab and give the driver their address and the fare. That's fair.

16 Leaving the plastic bag this South China Morning Post came wrapped in on the steps of the aisle for someone to go surfing down. Ditto all trash, it belongs in the lap sap tong (garbage bin).

17 Spending the entire tournament texting rather than living the moment. Get over your Blackberry - for three days anyway!

18 Booking an important meeting on the Monday after the Sevens (what were you thinking?).

19 Selling Sevens tickets for profit - sacrilege!

20 Suffering from 'Drink and Dial'. No, people in the UK don't want to be woken at four in the morning to hear a Mexican wave.

21 Drinking and driving. Tsk, tsk, tsk, you could be taken to task, task, task by the long arm of the law on that one.

22 Not remembering the name of your hotel, and getting mad at the unsuspecting taxi driver. Get a business card from the concierge with the address printed in Cantonese. If staying with friends, ask someone to write their address in Cantonese, too, and show it to the driver.

23 Taking too long in the toilet when there's already a queue. How long can it take, you've had it for years, and so you should really know where it is after all this time.

24 Not learning how to say Hong Kong Stadium (Dai Kau Cheung) in Cantonese, going round in circles in the taxi and missing the kick-off.

25 Giving your taxi driver the next day's Sevens ticket with the $500 note. And forgetting the change. (Double ouch).

26 Forgetting to drop in and visit your clients in the corporate box.

27 Forgetting you had clients.

28 Being invited to a corporate box with an invitation 'Please join us for a while over the Sevens,' and missing the sub-text. That doesn't mean staying the full three days, eating and drinking everything in sight, taking the best seats, and taking noisy children and/or a horde of noisy friends with you.

29 Forgetting to send a polite e-mail or handwritten note thanking whoever invited you to the corporate boxes (even if you behaved well and don't need to apologise!).

30 Not planning ahead. Think tickets purchase in December, not March. If you're living in Hong Kong and you don't want to queue, join a mini rugby club or a social rugby club. If you live overseas check if your nation's association or society has a ticket allocation from the HKRFU. Try to get a corporate ticket through your colleagues, or a patron's pass to the corporate boxes.



dos and don'ts