Source:
https://scmp.com/sport/rugby/hk-sevens/article/3201721/what-sweeping-changes-world-sevens-series-mean-hong-kong
Rugby/ HK Sevens

What the sweeping changes to World Sevens Series mean for Hong Kong

  • Hong Kong Rugby Union ‘welcomes plans for continued reimagination’ of Series, and is confident city remains part of the sport’s future
  • Officials calm fears over new relegation play-off system, saying that it creates greater opportunity for movement
Japan and Hong Kong players run onto the pitch at the 2022 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Hong Kong rugby bosses said they welcomed the changes to the World Sevens Series, and were confident the city would remain part of the sport’s future.

From December next year, the number of men’s teams in the series will be cut from 16 to 12, with seven tournaments rather than the 10 taking place this season.

World Rugby has said the move was designed to attract “a younger, more diverse and global fanbase”, while having 12 men’s and women’s teams would be in keeping with the Olympics.

In its announcement, the governing body said the remodelled series would “include seven festival style events, in seven iconic global destinations, across seven months”, culminating in a grand finale where the top eight teams would play off to be crowned champions.

“The Hong Kong Rugby Union welcomes World Rugby’s plans for continued reimagination of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series,” the HKRU said in a statement.

Eli Zaelo & the United Band performs during the Day 3 of 2022 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens. Photo: Sunny Hon/Ike Images
Eli Zaelo & the United Band performs during the Day 3 of 2022 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens. Photo: Sunny Hon/Ike Images

“The Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens has championed the concept of rugby sevens as more than sport throughout our 45-year history, and as an iconic global destination we remain confident of maintaining our position on the global series going forward.

“We whole-heartedly welcome the full and equal participation of the HSBC Women’s World Rugby Sevens Series in April and look forward to further definition of the qualification pathways for our Hong Kong representative teams.”

At first glance, cutting the number of teams in the series appears to reduce the chances of Hong Kong and others of ever reaching the top level, but World Rugby said the opposite was true.

Officials said the creation of a relegation play-off involving the top four teams from the Challenger Series, and the bottom four teams from the World Series after six rounds, created greater opportunity for movement.

“It is possible for four teams to gain promotion from the Challenger Series in a single year, in the current model only one team is promoted,” a spokesman said.

“In the inaugural Challenger Series in 2020 Hong Kong finished second, and consequently did not gain promotion to the World Series as only the winners [Japan] were promoted. In the new model, Hong Kong could finish fourth and still have the opportunity to achieve promotion at the grand finale event.”

Hong Kong players walk off the pitch after their game against Japan at the 2022 Hong Kong Sevens. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Hong Kong players walk off the pitch after their game against Japan at the 2022 Hong Kong Sevens. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Rugby bosses also said they were committed to increasing the number of second-tier tournaments, turning it into a “high quality multi-round series”.

The other concern for host cities that do not have teams in the World Series would appear to be that unlike in the past, there is little scope for including their sides in the event.

That means next year’s tournament in Hong Kong could be the last which actually involves the city’s players, although the union said World Rugby appreciated “the importance of having Hong Kong teams playing in the Stadium”.

For its part, the governing body said it would work with host cities to “assess the feasibility of including that team in a showcase event integrated into the World Series tournament”.