Hong Kong rugby will soon stir itself from the somnolence of summer as players begin to dust off their boots for the start of the 1996-97 season which is going to be a landmark year.
This auspicious season - the last campaign before the sun goes down on the Empire - will doubtless raise a lump in the throats of all traditionalists. It will kick off with the Aberdeen Sixes on September 28.
While the rank and file will have to wait until late next month to kick a ball competitively, the territory's elite go into action at the end of this month at the Cobra 10s tournament in Kuala Lumpur.
This is the first of many assignments for the national team who face the busiest international season in Hong Kong history.
The Hong Kong team will play 12 Tests during the 1996-97 season, five of them at home.
This full calendar of rugby is a far cry from the not too distant past when Hong Kong rugby had to scratch around for foreign opposition or wait for the Asian Championships which came around every two years.
Today, the picture has changed, thanks to the Pacific Rim Championship where the territory is ensured of playing a standard of rugby higher than their own.
