Professor Judith Mackay, OBE (and ardent Sevens fan), does not look like your average radical. She has been an anti-smoking activist and was offered 24-hour protection by the Hong Kong police due to her beliefs.
These days, she advises governments and the WHO and is a key part of the anti-tobacco lobby. 'Eventually, radicals grow older and wiser and they learn to work within the system,' she says.
Always a proponent of health and exercise (and a dab hand with a tai chi sword), it's no surprise she is a fan of rugby.
Mackay hails from Saltburn by the Sea and arrived in Hong Kong in 1967. Her husband, John, had preceded her arriving in 1963.
They believe they have been to every one of the 37 Hong Kong Sevens. 'I don't recount that we've missed one,' she says. 'We have so many pictures of the various years.
'From its inception the tournament created so much goodwill, Although it has changed and evolved over the years, there's always been so much camaraderie and a carnival spirit in the stands. I remember the Australian team being booed for a foul in the 1980s and that never seems to have stopped.'