Nearly 40,000 people rose to celebrate the founding father of rugby yesterday and then were left standing . . . 'April Fool', boomed announcer Dave 'Willo' Williams.
'On April Fool's Day at the Sevens, it's tradition for me to play a joke on all the crowd in the stadium,' said the long-time Sevens commentator.
'It must happen before midday. This year, I told the crowd it was the anniversary of William Webb Ellis picking up the ball for the first time and running away with it, thus creating the glorious game of rugby,' he explained.
'I asked the crowd to be upstanding for this auspicious event, and left 40,000 standing for 10 seconds ... before I announced April Fool's Day and went straight into playing Hey Baby.
'In my time of Sevens commentating, only two Sevens have fallen on April Fool's Day. Last year, it was on the Saturday that I got everyone looking under their seat for a HK$50,000 gold ticket.'
Gag-chief Willo is one of five 'paid voices' at the Sevens. As stadium announcers, it is their job to keep the crowd informed and keep the mood up.