Bring it on: March madness at the Sevens
Seasoned campaigners know Hong Kong Sevens week is a marathon, not a sprint, and it’s important to have built up a tolerance for the deluge of events.
Seasoned campaigners know Hong Kong Sevens week is a marathon, not a sprint, and it’s important to have built up a tolerance for the deluge of events.
First it was the 20th Country of Origin tournament, giving local players the chance to represent their countries of birth and throw aside club allegiances for the day. The final saw an impressive haka led by Otterbox NZ but it wasn’t enough to frighten off the DHL South African team who took the silverware with an intoxicating display of rugby led by former Sevens international Jimmy Richards. Is it a sign of things to come?
Many of the older players know that heading to the Manila 10s the weekend before the Sevens is akin to sevens suicide by the following Sunday, but that won’t stop about 300 of Hong Kong’s finest sports specimens heading down to the Nomads sports ground with strong representation from HKCC, HKFC, Valley and the Potbellied Pigs RFC to name a few.
For those left in Hong Kong, the Beach 5s in Repulse Bay will have plenty of action this weekend, featuring 16 men’s and eight women’s rugby teams, 32 netball teams and 32 dodgeball teams going head to head on the sand.
The week of the Sevens also has many lunches and dinners with various rugby legends as speakers and MCs. Various sevens and tens teams and corporate ambassadors also participate in a host of school and mini youth club visits.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the world-famous HKFC Tens takes centre stage at Sports Road. Watch out for the Asia-Pacific Dragons coached by ex-All Black captain Tana Umaga and Justin Marshall. The team includes HKCC stars Angus Cameron and Dylan Rogers.
Murray Mexted’s International Rugby Academy of New Zealand is joined by an old head in ex-Springbok Brent Russell and they should pose a strong challenge, along with perennial favourites Samurai and the Penguins.
On Thursday lunchtime, the HKRFU and New Zealand Consulate-General host a function with “The Value of Sport” as the theme, with All Black legends Graeme Mourie and Frank Bunce in attendance. In the evening, there is the KPMG/BritCham dinner at HKFC and the HKCC Rugby Sevens dinner at Aberdeen Marina Club.
Friday sees the infamous Long Lunch and the slightly more civilised Carbine Club lunch.
The Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Women’s Sevens is also on at HKFC where entry is free. The Bali Memorial game between the Potbellied Pigs and HKFC is also played at 12.30pm on Friday at the Football Club.
The action moves to the Hong Kong Stadium for the Sevens kick-off at 2pm, with the Women’s Sevens Cup final sharing the spotlight on Friday night (7:52 kick off). Then it’s a blur as Hong Kong attempt to qualify for the Sevens World Series.
Tuesday sees the opening ceremony and a Canto-pop evening with artists Khalil Fong and the band “Mr”. Wednesday has a free jazz concert in the park with The Cuban Brothers and “2manyDJs” headlining on Thursday. Friday has a local rock and Indie night with the launch of the 10-year anniversary of the “The Hong Kong Underground” with many of Hong Kong’s best rock bands playing in a battle-of-the-bands format.
On Saturday evening, there is an 80s/90s hip hop and disco night featuring De La Soul. And to prove there is something for everyone at the Fanzone, Sunday has all-day family entertainment with shows from the Smurfs, the CBeebies ZingZillas and the Teletubbies.
Across the street from Hong Kong Stadium, the HSBC-sponsored Sevens Village is a free-entry-for-all facility that allows members of the public to watch the live action on a big screen, try out interactive games and meet rugby legends.
An exciting new initiative this year is the #BRINGYOURGAME fancy dress competition. To many, the Hong Kong Sevens is as much about fancy dress as it is about rugby. Come down to the Sevens Village in your best and most outrageous fancy dress on Saturday and Sunday and you might win a pair of tickets to get inside the stadium.
