Opinion | Can Global Rapid Rugby survive? Fan response to Hong Kong showcase will ring alarms
- Hong Kong got its first taste of Global Rapid Rugby last weekend, but the weather spoiled the pitch – and attendance
- Andrew Forrest’s ambitious plan is off to a shaky start, but the league still has lots of time to sort itself out
Sadly, just over 1,000 people showed up at Aberdeen Sports Ground (the venue seats 9,000). However, the freak storm the day before could be blamed in part for the poor attendance.
Hong Kong was supposed to be a slam dunk for this exciting new format, and although spectators were treated to a ramped-up version of rugby and various off-field bells and whistles, it is doomed if no one is there to witness it.
Maybe Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest, who concocted the league partially to give his Western Force side a new place to play, should get a mulligan for the Hong Kong debut.
Hosting the game at Hong Kong Football Club in the heart of the city in Happy Valley may have doubled the crowd, but the allure of playing on grass means GRR is keeping with its ambitious nature.
