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Coronavirus Singapore
SportRugby

Coronavirus: World Rugby moves Hong Kong Sevens to October along with Singapore Sevens

  • The tournament will be pushed back, along with the Singapore Sevens, to the end of the Sevens Series schedule in October
  • The rugby event, which brings millions of dollars in revenue to the city, is the latest sporting event to be cancelled due to the virus

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The Hong Kong men’s team were hoping to qualify for the April tournament via a Challenger Series which starts on February 15 in Chile. Photo: HKRU
Patrick Blennerhassett
World Rugby has officially postponed the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, along with the Singapore Sevens, due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
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The tournament was scheduled to take place on April 3-5 at Hong Kong Stadium, with the Singapore edition taking place the following weekend (April 11-12). World Rugby released a statement on its website today confirming reports that circulated yesterday concerning the tournament’s fate.

The Hong Kong Sevens will now take place between October 16-18 and the Singapore Sevens will take place from October 10-11 to conclude the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020.

“The health and safety of our players, fans and everyone working on the event is always our highest priority,” read the statement. “This prudent decision has been taken in order to help protect the global rugby community and the wider public and was taken based on the World Health Organisation and relevant public authority travel and health guidelines. The decision is fully supported by stakeholders, including unions and commercial partners.”

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Confirmed cases of the virus in Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, increased tenfold in the past day as Chinese authorities changed diagnostic criteria for identifying people.
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