John Molloy dips his head in slight acknowledgment when the question is raised if the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union is the richest union east of Suez. 'Yes, we are comfortably off,' is his enigmatic reply.
The chairman of local rugby's governing body - which is celebrating its 50th anniversary - is not one for dramatics. When he played rugby for Hong Kong Football Club in the mid-80s, he was skilled in the art of playing percentage rugby. Behind a big set of forwards, Molloy - a tall scrumhalf, often the ninth forward - was the lynchpin of Football Club's 10-man game. That they steam-rollered over the opposition was inevitable.
So we know he is not going to get caught off guard when we try a sniping run from the flanks and try to find out how much money lies in the Cayman Island coffers of the Hong Kong union. But it is worth an attempt. Molloy is not forthcoming. But he then reveals how important all that money - minted at the annual Hong Kong Sevens (which takes place this year from March 28-30) - is to the future of local rugby.
It is conservatively estimated that the Hong Kong Sevens reaps in about $50 million to $60 million for the union every year. And in 2005, when Hong Kong hosts the fourth IRB World Cup Sevens, the union is set to make more profits after the International Rugby Board (IRB) agreed to hand back the broadcasting rights in that year.
'An awful lot of the money we get from the Hong Kong Sevens goes into the development and the promotion of rugby among the community. Hong Kong rugby has the best development programme of all sports in the SAR and it is all because of the funds we have,' says Molloy proudly.
He is quick to add: 'But there is no room for complacency. The biggest challenge facing us is to see that the Hong Kong Sevens remains the best seven-a-side tournament in the world.'