See the Sevens in absolute luxury and you may as well kiss your money goodbye

There was much bafflement yesterday in senior Hong Kong rugby circles. A new system of ticket sales for the 1997 World Cup Rugby Sevens cuts out the scalpers by ensuring that tickets only go to genuine rugby fans who have attended two matches.

News emerged yesterday that a high-class breed of ticket re-seller is already hard at work. Packages which include tickets and extras are being sold to firms at huge prices.

A firm called Sportsworld is making deals with Rabo Bank, Accor Asia-Pacific, Digital Equipment and others.

The British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong is sending out invitations offering deals at a mind-boggling $8,500 to $11,000 per person.

It offers punters 'unreserved' tickets on 'both days', hospitality supplied by the nearby (sort of) Park Lane Hotel and 'services of uniformed hostesses', whatever that means.

People at the Hong Kong Rugby Union Club yesterday were studying these offers and noted certain points. First, the games last three days, not two. Second, tickets are being distributed by balloting fans who attend other matches, so how can secondary market sellers guarantee they will have tickets to re-sell? Third, the face value is $1,000, so what do the food-servers and uniformed hostesses do to earn the other $7,500 to $10,000? Since seats are unreserved, how are these ladies going to find their clients among 40,000 other people? Last year, one hospitality group attempted to reserve seats for clients who had paid big bucks by getting a flock of domestic helpers to arrive early and sprawl over a few rows. Paul Ellis, of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, visited a razor factory in Guangzhou. In a room where 200 young ladies rapidly assembled razors was a big sign that read 'Safety First'. Right next to it was an equally large sign that read 'Quality First'.