The best thing about the new World Sevens Series is that the International Rugby Board has duly recognised the Hong Kong Sevens as the main attraction in the 10-leg circuit.
The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union might not have got what it wanted - the Hong Kong Sevens to be the grand finale - but it got the next best thing with the IRB giving additional ranking points for the SAR tournament. HKRFU chairman Peter Duncan says the IRB has awarded an extra 50 per cent of points for the side who win the Hong Kong Sevens.
'This is a way of recognising the Hong Kong Sevens as being the premier event,' a delighted Duncan said.
It will give the world's top sevens teams added incentive to win in Hong Kong. And it will mean that unions are likely to send their best sides to Hong Kong.
The IRB-backed World Sevens Series will kick off in Dubai on December 2-3. It will then swing through Stellenbosch, South Africa (December 10-11); Punte del Este, Uruguay (January 6-7); Mar del Plata, Argentina (January 12-13); Wellington (February 5-6); Australia, at a venue to be announced (February 12-13); Suva, Fiji (February 19-20); Hong Kong (March 24-26); Tokyo (April 1-2) and end in Paris (May 27-29).
Only the Hong Kong tournament will be run over three days and will feature 24 teams. The rest of the legs will be two-day, 16-team events.
In this way, the HKRFU gets to maintain the essence of the Hong Kong Sevens, which is to foster rugby in Asia while at the same time ensuring that the future of the tournament is also secure within the framework of a world circuit.