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China’s captain Liu Yan leads from the front en route to her side’s 45-7 quarter-final victory over Brazil at Shek Kip Mei last weekend – a result that saw them qualify for the 2014/15 IRB Women’s Sevens World Series. Photo: Power of Sport Images for HKRFU
Opinion
Boots and all
by Alvin Sallay
Boots and all
by Alvin Sallay

Come on, IRB, bring the Women’s World Series back to China

The irony will hopefully not be lost on the International Rugby Board. Here we have China qualifying as a new core team on the IRB Women’s Sevens World Series, while Guangzhou loses its status as host of one of the series stopovers. Meanwhile, the Netherlands fail to retain their playing slot, but Amsterdam will continue to host a tournament on the 2014/15 circuit.

The irony will hopefully not be lost on the International Rugby Board. Here we have China qualifying as a new core team on the IRB Women’s Sevens World Series, while Guangzhou loses its status as host of one of the series stopovers. Meanwhile, the Netherlands fail to retain their playing slot, but Amsterdam will continue to host a tournament on the 2014/15 circuit.

Losing Guangzhou was a big blow for China who, together with Fiji, France and South Africa, were one of the four teams to come through the qualifiers at Shek Kip Mei last weekend.

The IRB, apparently, was either unhappy with the facilities at the stadium built for the Asian Games in Guangzhou or the organisation behind the tournament - and they dropped the China leg from the series.

It need not necessarily have to be Guangzhou for we could play in Beijing or Shanghai, too. But we definitely want one to be held in Hong Kong,
Trevor Gregory, ARFU president

Next season’s six-leg series, which starts in Dubai in December, also comprises Brazil in February, the United States in March (the date previously held by China), Canada in April, and England and the Netherlands in May.

Apart from the two European legs, which are in successive weeks, every other leg is on its own. Dubai has been included because it will coincide with a leg on the men’s series and together they become one big rugby sevens party.

Brazil is in the picture for the obvious reason that the IRB wants the South Americans to be ready by the time the Olympic bandwagon rolls into Rio. One would have thought the Canada and US legs would also have been held back-to-back.

There is a strong possibility the world governing body will look at scheduling the women’s series like the men’s and have consecutive tournaments over two weekends to make it easier for the teams and reduce costs. Just think of China having to travel to the US in March and then a month later to Canada.

Former Hong Kong Rugby Football Union chairman Trevor Gregory, who is now devoting all his rugby time to being president of the Asian Rugby Football Union, says there are moves afoot to bring the women’s series back to his part of the world.

“It need not necessarily have to be Guangzhou for we could play in Beijing or Shanghai, too. But we definitely want one to be held in Hong Kong,” says Gregory.

Hong Kong bid to host a leg a few years ago, but the IRB shot it down on the grounds that we did not have the facilities to host both a men’s and women’s sevens tournament at the same time. They are not enamoured, it seems, with playing on an artificial strip and had wanted the women’s tournament to be played at Hong Kong Stadium side-by-side with the men.

But our old and tired venue cannot host 28 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams over three days. We don’t have enough changing rooms unless they are shared. I can’t see the Springbok Sevens sharing with the All Blacks Sevens, though they might be willing to “take one for the team” and share with their female counterparts.

So, until the IRB agrees to play on an artificial track, or unless the Kai Tak Sports Hub miraculously appears overnight, it is unlikely Hong Kong will get a leg in the near future.

But let’s hope the women’s series returns soon to China, who will be genuine contenders for a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics and will need as much encouragement as they can get.

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