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Jonathan White

The Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens is the latest sports event to be caught in the city’s battle against the coronavirus outbreak and will likely be moved back to October.
This year’s tournament, the 45th edition, was scheduled to take place at Hong Kong Stadium from April 3-5.
Organisers had earlier said this year’s event was “all systems go” despite the battle against the virus, but have had to shelve the World Rugby Sevens World Series stop for six months.
The Hong Kong Rugby Union, which co-hosts the marquee tournament with World Rugby, remained tight-lipped on Wednesday night but a source told the Post an announcement would be made on Thursday by the game’s governing body, which is based in Dublin, Ireland.


HKRU chief executive Robbie McRobbie said late on Wednesday night: “We’ll make an announcement of what we intend to do tomorrow.”
It has been widely rumoured that the event would be rescheduled and October is the most likely date, according to the source.
April’s event was set to be another sell-out, with 40,000 fans packing the stadium in So Kon Po each day and more than half of them coming from outside the city.
Speculation that the Sevens would not go ahead began last year in the wake of the anti-government protests, then intensified after the spread of the virus to the city.
Hong Kong Marathon cancelled in wake of coronavirus outbreak
This year’s Sevens joins a long list of sporting events that have been either cancelled or postponed because of either the protests or coronavirus.
In the past month, the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon and Longines Masters of Hong Kong showjumping event scheduled for February have been cancelled, while the Hong Kong Premier League has been on hiatus since January.
This is the first time that the Sevens has been postponed since the tournament began in 1976, even going ahead in 2003 during the Sars outbreak.


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Coronavirus forces Hong Kong Sevens to be postponed, with October date the target

Fiji fans cheer on their team at the 2019 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens. Photo: SCMP

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Salom Yiu Kam-shing of Hong Kong during the 2019 edition of the Hong Kong Sevens. Photo: Sam Tsang

Rugby fans cheer during the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament in Hong Kong, Sunday, April 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Sport

Hong Kong

Other Sport


City’s most high-profile sporting event is called off in April and is likely to be held in October because of coronavirus spread
World Rugby will make the announcement on Thursday



City’s most high-profile sporting event is called off in April and is likely to be held in October because of coronavirus spread.


Coronavirus forces Hong Kong Sevens to be postponed, with October date the target

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} City’s most high-profile sporting event is called off in April and is likely to be held in October because of coronavirus spread World Rugby will make the announcement on Thursday

City’s most high-profile sporting event is called off in April and is likely to be held in October because of coronavirus spread

World Rugby will make the announcement on Thursday