'Globalisation' has caught up with the Hong Kong Sevens according to Brian Stevenson, president of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union who, while nostalgic at the change in format to next month's showpiece, insisted that it would raise the intensity and excitement from day one.
'Yes, having been involved in this tournament from day one, it is a bit sad that we won't be able to see the so-called minnows take on the bigger sides, but what we will get is a lot more evenly matched games from the very first day,' Stevenson said last night.
And yesterday's draw for the 2012 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens promised just that, as both the top 12 core teams, and the other 12 teams vying to become a core team next season, were organised into mouth-watering pools which promised no-holds-barred contests from the word go.
For the first time since the Hong Kong Sevens began in 1976, the March 22-25 tournament will be split into two competitions. The 12 core teams involved in the HSBC Sevens World Series will battle it out among themselves, while the remaining 12 teams will fight for one of three qualifying berths, with the International Rugby Board expanding the core teams from 12 to 15 next season.
But the splitting of the world-famous tournament into two distinct events has drawn widespread criticism for 'betraying the spirit of the tournament'.
'Since 1976, the Hong Kong Sevens has offered a unique opportunity in the world of rugby for the sport's smaller nations to play against its biggest. By segregating the tournament into halves, the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union has implemented a system that will mean the smaller nations are no longer offered the opportunity to play against the likes of New Zealand or England,' M.Lamb from Stanley wrote in the Post's letters page.