Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2016 - South China Morning Post

Former Wales sevens captain Jevon Groves settling in as Gareth Baber’s Hong Kong assistant

Fri, 07 Oct 2016 09:15:30 +0000

After years of warming up in front of the South Stand during his time playing sevens for Wales, new Hong Kong elite men’s coach and HKFC recruit Jevon Groves is already plotting a trip into the iconic party area come April. He may fall short in his plan however, with the 28-year-old, who was appointed as Gareth Baber’s assistant in July, set to have other things on his plate at the Hong Kong Sevens. Having captained Wales on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and played as recently as the...

Tough act to follow: Fiji to advertise sevens post as Olympic gold medal-winning coach Ben Ryan moves on

Fri, 02 Sep 2016 10:00:15 +0000

Fiji rugby officials accepted on Friday that they had lost gold medal winning sevens coach Ben Ryan and confirmed they would now advertise for a new coach. Both rugby officials and the government have courted Ryan since the sevens team won Fiji’s first ever Olympic Games medal, hoping the 44-year-old Englishman would stay. He has been awarded Fiji’s highest civilian offer, been showered with gifts including a prime parcel of land in the South Pacific island nation, and talks were under way to...

Sayonara: Hong Kong’s Jamie Hood signs with Japanese Top League side Ricoh Black Rams

Tue, 30 Aug 2016 10:00:30 +0000

Next year’s Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens remain firmly in Jamie Hood’s sights despite the 29-year-old signing a contract to play with Japanese Top League side Ricoh Black Rams. The scrum-half headed to Japan in early July to start a “last-minute” seven-month contract after Tokyo-based Ricoh suffered a number of injuries. “It was only two weeks before I came over that I knew I was going to come,” Hood said. “They got a couple of injuries to their nines [scrum-halves] and needed somebody...

Fiji’s sevens players return home to a heroes welcome after landing country’s first Olympic gold

Sun, 21 Aug 2016 02:00:45 +0000

Fiji’s gold-medal-winning men’s sevens rugby team arrived home Sunday to a delighted nation thrilled by the capture of its first ever Olympic medal. The team’s flight touched down in Nadi at midday after a journey from Brazil via Santiago, Chile and Auckland, New Zealand. Fans were asked not to greet the team at the airport and instead lined the streets or waited in their thousands at Prince Charles Park where an official welcome ceremony was to take place. The streets of Nadi were decked with...

Olympic rugby might not quite be the Hong Kong Sevens – but it’s not too far off

Fri, 12 Aug 2016 10:45:30 +0000

Dan Johnson remembers exactly when he first heard about rugby. “My buddy had a New Zealand girlfriend and she took him to a game,” recalls the American at the men’s Olympic finals. “He phoned me up at 3am – s**t-faced of course – saying ‘Dan, I’ve got the perfect game for us’.” Johnson hung up, but his interest was piqued. Years later, he was among 12,000 passionate fans at the Deodoro Stadium on Rio’s northern outskirts to watch the medal matches. Johnson had another reason to travel from...

As rugby proves smash hit at the Olympics, sport’s chief says it owes a massive debt to Hong Kong Sevens for that success

Fri, 12 Aug 2016 06:15:00 +0000

Rugby is at the Olympics to stay, the sport’s top man told the Post in Rio – and it couldn’t have happened without the Hong Kong Sevens. Brett Gosper, World Rugby’s chief executive, promised a “Hong Kong Sevens experience” for fans at Tokyo 2020, and was confident the sport would remain at the Games long beyond that after the success of its debut in Brazil. Fiji won the men’s gold medal – as every neutral wanted – to cap six successful days that had Gosper purring. WATCH: golden moments on Day 6...

Time to deliver: Fiji ready to push for Olympic rugby sevens gold

Wed, 03 Aug 2016 21:00:30 +0000

Years of meticulous planning and traversing the globe winning back-to-back World Rugby Sevens Series titles had coach Ben Ryan prepared for just about anything when he revealed his Fiji squad for the Olympics. One thing he couldn’t guarantee was the reaction of the players who missed out, a response he now regards as the measure of the team. “One by one, they came in and one by one I told them their fate and to a man they were outstanding in the way they took their news,” Ryan recalled. “If they...

The Nate show: Super Bowl winner Ebner earns USA sevens call-up for the Olympics

Tue, 19 Jul 2016 08:30:30 +0000

New England Patriots safety Nate Ebner was named Monday to the US rugby sevens team for the Rio Olympics, making him the only National Football League player with a chance to capture gold in Brazil. Ebner, who also worked on special teams to help the Patriots capture last year’s Super Bowl title, was given permission by the team last March to chase his Olympic dream, an opportunity he called “humbling” and “amazing”. WATCH: NFL’s Nate Ebner bags a brace on his Singapore Sevens debut for...

Jesse Parahi’s gamble to ditch NRL pays off with place in Aussie team for Rio

Thu, 14 Jul 2016 02:45:30 +0000

Jesse Parahi’s decision to ditch rugby league and return to sevens paid dividends on Thursday when the forward was named in Australia’s squad for next month’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The 27-year-old helped Australia advance to Rio last year when they clinched the Oceania qualification tournament in Auckland before he switched to the National Rugby League’s Wests Tigers. However, he cut short his contract with the Tigers in April, after a succession of injuries restricted his playing time, in a...

Hong Kong Sevens champions Fiji to face hosts Brazil at Rio Olympics

Wed, 29 Jun 2016 05:00:15 +0000

Hong Kong Sevens winners and top seeds Fiji were drawn against the United States, Argentina and host nation Brazil in pool A in the draw for next month's Olympic rugby sevens tournament. Rugby is returning to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro after 92 years in its sevens format, a smaller and faster version of the 15-man game. Twelve teams will compete for gold in both the men’s and women’s events. In addition to the tough Pool A, seeds South Africa will play Australia, France and repechage...

Australia’s Olympics sevens squad set to be Wallabies-free

Tue, 21 Jun 2016 04:15:45 +0000

Wallabies winger Nick Cummins’ hopes of landing a spot in the Australia squad for the Olympic Games rugby sevens tournament are in jeopardy after he was omitted from a key training camp in Darwin due to a knee injury. Coach Andy Friend named a 16-man squad for the camp starting this weekend and is all but certain to pick his final 12 for Rio de Janeiro from that group. “I’ve made it clear to the group that it’ll be tough to make the squad for Rio if they haven’t been selected for Darwin,” he...

Debutant Eric Kwok hopes to make an impact for Hong Kong in Monaco showdown

Fri, 17 Jun 2016 15:45:00 +0000

Eric Kwok Pak-nga hopes to add to Hong Kong’s scoring firepower when he makes his senior debut in the Olympic Sevens repêchage in Monaco. It is all on the line for Hong Kong this weekend, with only the winner of the 16-team competition securing the 12th and final place in Rio. Hong Kong coach Gareth Baber announced his final 12 late on Friday after taking 13 players to Monaco, with forward Mark Wright the one to miss out after failing to shake off a shoulder complaint. “I think my finishing and...

Olympic repêchage offers an ideal opportunity for Hong Kong to show they mean business

Thu, 16 Jun 2016 10:15:15 +0000

If, and it’s a reasonably sized if, Hong Kong can deliver a strong performance in the Olympic Games repêchage in Monaco this weekend, the reverberations could be felt for a long time to come. While it is generally accepted that Hong Kong can’t win at the weekend, what they can do is add a little bit more excitement to what it means to play rugby here at home. The bottom line for Hong Kong is that they have a reasonable pool – Mexico, South Korea and Spain – which they should progress from. If...

Last chance for Hong Kong as sevens squad head for final Olympic qualifier in Monaco

Mon, 13 Jun 2016 11:00:15 +0000

Max Woodward is fit and ready to lead Hong Kong into the do-or-die Olympic repêchage in Monaco this weekend after a quad injury kept him out of April’s Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens. Woodward is confident Hong Kong can pick up where they left off at the Sevens and is itching to get back into top flight competition after the frustration of injury. “We don’t get many tournaments, you train April to April only to miss out on that one Hong Kong tournament,” he said. “It’s pretty gutting. I...

Olympic repêchage is so late in the day it leaves the winning team little time to prepare for Rio

Thu, 09 Jun 2016 09:30:00 +0000

Hong Kong will be one of 16 teams fighting it out in Monaco next weekend for the final spot in the sevens competition at the Rio Olympics. That’s right – 16 teams, one winner. Reality has it that there is probably only three teams that are good enough to win the repêchage – 2015-16 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series participants Samoa, Russia and Canada. The increased level of competition these teams have been exposed to playing on the global circuit gives them a massive advantage over the other 13...

Time to book your hangover recovery day as Hong Kong Sevens 2017 dates are announced

Wed, 25 May 2016 06:13:11 +0000

Save the date (and book a hangover Monday off work) – next year’s Hong Kong Sevens weekend has been confirmed as April 7-9. Some people might still be recovering from this year’s event but they can start planning for 2017 after World Rugby confirmed the event would take place on the second weekend of April, the same as this year. The sport’s governing body said the 2016 World Sevens Series – won by Hong Kong champions Fiji – had been the biggest and best ever, and they will be hoping for a huge...

Bring it on, say Hong Kong after favourable draw for winner-takes-all Olympic rugby repêchage

Tue, 24 May 2016 06:30:15 +0000

Hong Kong “have nothing to fear” after a favourable draw for next month’s winner-takes-all Olympic repêchage tournament, said coach Gareth Baber. After a barnstorming run to the final of the World Series Qualifier on home soil in April, HK were seeded fourth, the highest for a team not on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, for the 16-team tournament in Monaco next month. And after landing Spain, Mexico and South Korea, they will enter pool play full of confidence. The winner of the tournament...

Why Quade Cooper’s Rio Olympics snub showed the gulf that now separates sevens and 15s rugby

Fri, 06 May 2016 09:45:00 +0000

A lot of the pre-Hong Kong Sevens hype last month focused on one man: New Zealand’s Sonny Bill Williams. A World Cup winner in 15s with the All Blacks, a star too in rugby league (and a half-decent heavyweight boxer just for good measure), it was a mouth-watering opportunity to see him in the flesh. Not since the good ol’ pre-professionalism days, when most squads were packed with 15s greats willing to interrupt titanic drinking sessions with the odd game of sevens, had the tournament been...

Give Hong Kong rugby sevens the star-studded opening show it deserves

Tue, 26 Apr 2016 09:03:45 +0000

The Hong Kong Sevens is the city’s biggest annual sporting party that showcases world-class rugby with a creative and entertaining atmosphere in the stands. Part of the humorous fun at this year’s “Reinventville Sevens” was the amateurish entertainment provided by a reinvented David Hasselhoff. To his credit, he picked the right place to reinvent himself – reinventing oneself is something Hong Kong and Hongkongers do repeatedly. I hope Hasselhoff will continue to reinvent himself, but preferably...

Why the Hong Kong Sevens will be wary after Singapore event’s promising start

Fri, 22 Apr 2016 01:30:45 +0000

Follow @JamesPorteous A popular pastime in Hong Kong is to look at Singapore and, like anxious schoolboys, compare our parts with theirs. In recent months alone we read in the SCMP that: ‘Singapore is turning into arts hub while Hong Kong stuck in the mud’; ‘Hong Kong is losing out to Singapore in terms of public financial knowledge’; ‘Singapore is looking sweet as foreign investors turn away from Hong Kong’, ‘Hong Kong overtaken by Singapore as third leading global financial centre’ and ‘Hong...

Triumphant Kenyan sevens players return home to a heroes’ welcome

Wed, 20 Apr 2016 07:45:15 +0000

Traditional dancers greeted Kenya’s winning rugby sevens team Tuesday when they landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, as the country celebrated its first victory on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. When you talk about patriotism, my boys are the most patriotic Benjamin Ayimba, Kenya Sevens coach The dancers – some donning the Kenyan flag – lined up on both sides of a red carpet as the players stepped off a flight from Singapore, where they won their first series tournament...

‘Sauna’ sevens as Singapore returns as host of latest leg in World Series

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 09:00:00 +0000

Top-level sevens returns to steamy Singapore for the first time in a decade this weekend as rugby looks for another foothold in Asia and teams firm up their plans for the Rio Olympics. A week after Fiji were crowned Hong Kong Sevens champions for a record 12th time, two-time Rugby World Cup-winner Sonny Bill Williams will press his Olympic bid with New Zealand but Australia’s Nick “Honey Badger” Cummins is out with an ankle injury as the sevens series nears its conclusion. After the 10-year...

‘Sonny Bill Williams took a selfie and just walked off’ – and eight-year-old Cooper Rodda was left holding All Blacks star’s trophy

Tue, 12 Apr 2016 07:45:00 +0000

Tears of anguish turned to utter joy for eight-year-old Cooper "Coops" Rodda in a blink-if-you-miss-it act of kindness by All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams at the Hong Kong Sevens. His mother, Tan Guerin-Rodda, said her son was crying after his beloved New Zealand lost 21-7 to Fiji in the final at the Hong Kong Stadium on Sunday. However, within minutes of the final whistle, Williams came over for a selfie with the family and when he left seconds later, a stunned Cooper was left holding the...

Sonny Bill Williams gives away his Hong Kong Sevens runners-up cup to eight-year-old ‘Coops’

Mon, 11 Apr 2016 07:00:15 +0000

Big-hearted Sonny Bill Williams has done it again – this time at the Hong Kong Sevens. The New Zealand star has given away his Sevens World Series runners-up trophy to a young fan, just like he did with his winners' gold medal after the All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup at Twickenham last year. Tan Guerin-Rodda writes on her Facebook page that Williams was walking past after New Zealand lost 21-7 to Fiji in the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens final last Sunday and her group asked him for a...

Joy and agony: Mighty Fijians’ killer instinct kicks in to seal Hong Kong Sevens title - again

Sun, 10 Apr 2016 16:30:45 +0000

You had the feeling all along that the Fijians were slowly building their momentum, unconcerned with what was happening on the other side of the draw at the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, or even at times on the other side of the field. It was all about focusing on the style of game that has cemented the Fijians as the standard bearers when it comes to sevens – backing their natural instincts and, come what may, quite simply making sure they scored more points than anyone else. “We play...

England look beyond Hong Kong Sevens Plate victory and target Rio

Sun, 10 Apr 2016 13:00:00 +0000

England coach Simon Amor savoured victory in the Plate final over the United States but his post-match celebrations were muted because it’s merely a small part of an overall Olympic plan. A reasonably comfortable 19-0 victory in the final against an up-and-down USA team gave Amor another chance to identify talent ahead of the Rio Games this summer. WATCH: Dan Norton scores his 200th sevens try for England: England will represent Great Britain in the Games when sevens makes its debut and Amor...

Tim Noonan: Likeable underdogs USA are here to stay

Sun, 10 Apr 2016 09:45:30 +0000

You inherit this town. It doesn’t inherit you. That is the cardinal rule of Hong Kong and it won’t be changing any time soon. Come ye from ports near and far and on entry you are most certainly free to redefine yourself both professionally and socially, as many do. But know that when you arrive in this teeming and unique enclave, the rules are already written. The sporting rules, in particular, have been etched in stone thanks to the colonial legacy. It’s all about soccer, cricket and rugby....

Sevens Seen, with Robby Nimmo - Day 3

Sun, 10 Apr 2016 08:34:46 +0000

We could be heroes Tina Turner’s Mad Max anthem “We don’t need another Hero” doesn’t reflect the Hong Kong Sevens. In fact, we have a surfeit of heroes, and there’s always room for more. They are everywhere in the stadium. From the parents who tirelessly go bleary eyed to the pitches around Hong Kong every weekend for months every year, and their kids who run with tiny chests beating in their hearts on the same pitch where the legends strut their stuff, dreaming big. To the fans and especially...

One million Chinese rugby players in 10 years: Alisports and World Rugby join forces to develop the sport in the mainland

Sun, 10 Apr 2016 03:30:00 +0000

China is hoping to have one million rugby players in 10 years time after Alisports and World Rugby signed a historic agreement on Sunday to develop the game in the mainland. Zhang Dazhong, CEO of Alisports, signed the agreement with World Rugby chairman Bernard Lapasset and chief executive Brett Gosper in which the sports arm of e-commerce giant Alibaba will pump in millions of dollars into the development of the sport in China. "We hope to have one million players in 10 years time," said Zhang....

RECAP: Fiji crowned Hong Kong Sevens champions again, but it's agony for HK as they lose out to Japan

Sun, 10 Apr 2016 02:15:15 +0000

Follow @JamesPorteous FULL FIXTURES AND RESULTS DAY 2 RECAP That's it for another year folks. Here's the key takeaways: Fiji win 21-7 over New Zealand, their fourth title in Hong Kong in five years Stretch lead on World Series to 5 points over New Zealand England win plate, Argentina bowl, Russia shield Hong Kong make qualifier final but lose out narrowly to perennial nemesis Japan Thanks for tuning in - we'll be back for the Olympics! SING: @fijirugby and @benjaminryan gather after...

Hong Kong reign over Spain to secure semi-final spot

Sat, 09 Apr 2016 14:30:00 +0000

A Hong Kong team who have so often seen their moment come and go at the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens finally landed a blow of some substance on Saturday night, shocking Spain 12-7 in extra time in a pulsating quarter-final. Hong Kong attacked relentlessly through a hectic few minutes of the golden point sudden death, before James Cunningham sent Toby Fenn over for the win. It was refreshing to see the home side embrace the crowd support and deliver in a situation that has so often before...

Mysterious Germany stand in Hong Kong's way again

Sat, 09 Apr 2016 14:07:24 +0000

Having been absent from the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens since 1992, Germany came into the week very much under the radar. Now, after topping pool E of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Qualifier and then holding off Morocco 19-14 to set up a semi-final clash with Hong Kong, who they edged in the group stage, the question is being asked: who are these mysterious Germans? "We knew that not many of the other teams here would know much about us – and that's how we like it," said their 32-year-old...

England’s impressive run halted after draw with Russia

Sat, 09 Apr 2016 13:45:15 +0000

Fans favourites England topped their group after day two of the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens but the enigmatic nature of their season was on show in their last game of the day when they were held to a tie against the previously poor Russians. The game ended 12-12 and, as that scoreline suggests, it could have gone either way. After rolling highly fancied South Africa on Friday night the trouble the Russians provided Simon Amor’s men was unexpected. And the normally deliriously support...

Tim Noonan: England surging down the blind side

Sat, 09 Apr 2016 09:30:15 +0000

So now what, England? A whole stadium full of English folks were prepared to spend the weekend drowning their sorrows over their decidedly underwhelming sevens team. While New Zealand, Australia and South Africa were fortifying their national sevens squads with some of the top union players in hopes of winning a medal at the upcoming summer Olympics in Rio, England added no one of note. Sure there is a difference between 15-a-side rugby and sevens, but talent is still talent and while there is...

WATCH: Hong Kong Sevens fans draw themselves

Sat, 09 Apr 2016 05:15:30 +0000

Fans at the South Stand have fun with a marker and drawing board.

Hong Kong Sevens Day Two recap - HK stun Spain to reach semis, while big guns cruise through

Sat, 09 Apr 2016 01:45:00 +0000

Follow @JamesPorteous FULL FIXTURES AND RESULTS ALL OUR COVERAGE HERE DAY 1 RECAP DAY 1 PHOTO GALLERY Welp, that's it for another day of thrills and spills. In summary: Favourites New Zealand, Fiji and South Africa all safely into quarters NZ v Wales, US v South Africa, Fiji v Kenya, England v Australia in the Cup tomorrow Hong Kong stun Spain in sudden-death golden points to reach Qualifier tournament semis Germany v Hong Kong, Zimbabwe v Japan in that David Hasselhoff sang the theme...

Live by the sword, die by the sword: close shaves for Fiji and All Blacks Sevens

Fri, 08 Apr 2016 14:45:45 +0000

Friday night and the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens was simply baying for entertainment. What the people wanted they got, too, with tournament favourites Fiji and New Zealand pushed to their limits in games they were supposed to own. But the sevens world is rapidly changing and the clichés we’ve been hearing for so long now actually ring true. There are no easy games. Hence Canada came out with little fear against reigning champions Fiji – boasting 15 titles and with almost every man,...

Hong Kong under pressure after loss to Germany

Fri, 08 Apr 2016 14:15:15 +0000

You would think by now Hong Kong would be accustomed to the home-town expectation of a Friday night at the Hong Kong Sevens. Having a host of first-timers would not have helped, but Hong Kong certainly have a knack of making things tough for themselves. As a result of a 12-5 loss to Germany, they will, for the second year running, enter day two of the qualifying tournament needing to win to ensure their passage to the quarter-finals. We’ll lick our wounds for a little bit but get realistic about...

4 things we learned from day one of the Hong Kong Sevens

Fri, 08 Apr 2016 13:15:15 +0000

Germans are annoyingly good at everything: They’ve already got the best football team in the world, the best beer, the best cars and the most frightening pornography, now it turns out they’re quite good at rugby too, having only got serious about the game about two weeks ago. Back in Hong Kong after a break of 24 years, Die Mannschaft opened with an impressive 14-14 draw against Zimbabwe – last year’s runners-up in the qualifier, who only just missed out on qualifying for the Olympics. Then,...

Caymans thrive on amateur spirit despite defeats

Fri, 08 Apr 2016 12:45:45 +0000

The all-amateur Cayman Islands team experienced a baptism of fire on the first day of their Hong Kong Sevens debut, but while any hopes they had of earning World Rugby Sevens Series core status have been well and truly extinguished, their enthusiasm has certainly not been doused. Hosts Hong Kong inflicted a 43-0 hammering of the Caribbean outfit in their opening game, but an improved performance against Zimbabwe, where they went down 35-5, lifted the side’s spirits and they’ll go into their...

A funny thing happened on the way to the Hong Kong Stadium for the Sevens – free beer ... yes, free beer

Fri, 08 Apr 2016 11:27:34 +0000

Twenty years and counting and there has probably been no better start to this event for me. Coming out of Causeway Bay’s MTR station and throwing yourself into a heaving mosh pit of humanity, dripping from the indigenous blanket of humidity, you make your way towards Hong Kong Stadium. It’s hot and getting hotter, yet through the haze of perspiration a sweet voice beckons: “Free beer!” There are simply very few places in the world where beer is free Ah OK, this can’t be much more than a mirage...

Sevens Seen, with Robby Nimmo - Day 1

Fri, 08 Apr 2016 11:00:45 +0000

Going Green Whereas people think Scots, Kiwis and Aussies make the biggest globetrotters, according to Forbes magazine research, the Irish top the list of people living overseas at 17.5 per cent, followed by New Zealand at 14.1 per cent. The Chinese are on the bottom of the table with 0.3 per cent. Australia only rate at 2 per cent, well below the UK, who rate 6.8 per cent. The Irish diaspora has always wandered the seven seas and celebrated events like St Patrick’s Day wherever they are. In...

WATCH: 2016 Hong Kong Sevens highlights

Fri, 08 Apr 2016 08:00:15 +0000

WATCH: Fiji’s Ben Ryan reviews ‘massive Hong Kong triumph’ for the Olympic favourites: WATCH: Seven scintillating tries from the Qualifier competition: WATCH: Day three highlights from the 2016 Hong Kong Sevens: WATCH: Semi Kunatani seals victory for defending Hong Kong champions Fiji: WATCH: Dan Norton scores his 200th sevens try for England: WATCH: Gareth Baber and Ryan Meacheam on Hong Kong reaching Qualifier final: WATCH: Kurt Baker hat-trick as All Blacks Sevens find their...

Hong Kong still on target for Olympics qualifier despite narrow loss to France

Fri, 08 Apr 2016 07:00:30 +0000

Hong Kong coach Anna Richards is confident her side are moving forward despite their second successive semi-final exit from the Hong Kong Women’s Rugby Sevens. A gutsy Hong Kong suffered a heartbreaking 5-0 loss to France in the semi-final at HKFC, but a disappointed Richards saw plenty she liked and is looking to June’s Olympic repêchage in Dublin with some confidence. “One of the things I’ve been very happy with over the past two days is our defence,” Richards said. “They put it out there and...

RECAP: All the action from Day One of the Hong Kong Sevens 2016

Fri, 08 Apr 2016 04:45:15 +0000

Follow @JamesPorteous READ ALL OUR SEVENS COVERAGE HERE FULL FIXTURES AND RESULTS HERE Well, that's it for day 1. Favourites Fiji...

Nate Ebner called up for American Eagles at Hong Kong Sevens

Fri, 08 Apr 2016 02:15:00 +0000

American football player Nate Ebner has fulfilled his wish of forcing his way into the United States sevens squad when he was named as a late replacement for the injured Carlin Isles. Ebner, who won a Super Bowl ring in 2015 as a safety for New England Patriots, played in this week’s GFI HKFC 10s in an attempt to showcase his rugby skills and earn a place in the American team for this year’s Olympic Games. And USA Rugby took notice after Isles pulled out of the squad because of a “nagging” but...

Penguins clinch title after extra time head-to-head battle with Samurai in Tens final

Thu, 07 Apr 2016 15:37:37 +0000

Penguins beat Samurai 5-0 with a try in the second period of extra-time to win one of the most physically draining finals ever seen at the GFI HKFC 10s. After more than 30 minutes of scoreless 10-a-side action, Waikato flanker Josh Tyrell picked up a loose ball following a line-out near the Samurai line and powered over in the second five-minute period of extra-time, following two 12-minute halves where both teams cancelled each other out. We lost a couple. They also lost a couple. Both teams...

Hong Kong women must beat Japan to make semis of Sevens

Thu, 07 Apr 2016 14:00:00 +0000

Natasha Olson-Thorne led from the front as Hong Kong finished day one of the Hong Kong Women’s Rugby Sevens with their sights firmly fixed on a semi-final berth. The home side must beat Japan in their final pool match on Friday and maintain their points difference advantage over Argentina to qualify for the finals. She’s a quality player and she’s great to have on the pitch. I thought she did really well Coach Anna Richards on new skipper Natasha Olson-Thorne It was a big day for 23-year-old...

Live: Hong Kong Sevens 2016 updates – Hoff and puff, news and, of course, more Badgerisms

Thu, 07 Apr 2016 11:30:15 +0000

Thursday, 7 April 2016 Hong Kong Sevens build-up: updated regularly (Apologies to readers who may have experienced updating issues. Sevens gremlins). Tuesday and Wednesday updates Until we meet again ... Well, it’s been a wonderful three days with the Hong Kong Sevens community here and abroad. Time to refresh and re-energise for Friday’s opening day. Our blog pioneer James Porteous (Yes, BBC copied him) will take his usual place in the chair once the action starts at the Hong Kong Stadium....

Hong Kong showcase remains sevens jewel in the crown even as Rio promises golden prize

Thu, 07 Apr 2016 11:00:00 +0000

For 41 editions now the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens have been the centre of the game’s universe, the showcase that has gathered the faithful – on the field and off – for a weekend more annual pilgrimage now that simply a sports event. Defending champions Fiji come back to their home away from a home that sits battered and bruised after the destruction wrought by Cyclone Winston in February They’ve returned again this April, both players and those hordes, to a different time slot on the...