Singapore Sevens ‘better than Hong Kong’ in World Rugby evaluation as city state gloats going ‘one up’ on Asian rival

Singapore rugby officials are gloating after the city state’s major sevens tournament beat out Hong Kong’s more famous event in World Rugby’s series ranking for 2018 – thanks mainly to their superior stadium facilities. The Singapore Sevens was ranked the second-best tournament in 2018 behind Vancouver in Canada, according to a local media report, with Hong Kong – the standard-bearer for global sevens over the past 40 years – only managing fifth place out of 10 venues in the HSBC World Sevens Series. South Africa’s Cape Town Sevens was third with Hamilton, in New Zealand, ranked fourth. “For us to go one-up on Hong Kong is a great achievement, and we were very close to becoming No 1,” Singapore Rugby Union president Terence Khoo was quoted as saying. “Our task was to put the Singapore Sevens back on track to be one of the leading lights of the series. We centred our event on family fun, which differentiated Singapore from the other venues. “There were many areas of improvement as we dug deep and devoted manpower and resources into running the event to ensure the player and team experience were better than before.” Can squeaky clean Singapore use its ‘Family Sevens’ theme to surpass the Hong Kong Sevens booze-fest? Although World Rugby awards points for each tournament, it is understood the system is an internal operational evaluation process to identify areas needing improvement, not meant for public consumption and not meant as an actual ranking tool. Singapore has only had nine editions of its international sevens tournament, with the inaugural competition launched in 2002. It ran for six years before falling off the calendar, only to return in 2013 for a one-off event. Singapore organisers revived the tournament in 2016 with a strategic plan to make it family-friendly and fun, providing entertainment not only for fans but for teams with their innovative players’ village. According to the report, World Rugby’s assessment is based on nine categories, including accommodation and general support services. Singapore had top-three rankings for training facilities and travel arrangements. The Hong Kong Stadium, while providing an atmosphere unmatched by any other arena on the series, falls short when it comes to support services because of the lack of a training stadium – a shortcoming that would change after 2023 when the Kai Tak Sports Park is expected to be completed. Hong Kong Rugby Union chief executive Robbie McRobbie said he was happy to see Singapore raise its game over the past two years. “It’s great to see how the Singapore Sevens has developed over the past couple of years, and it’s exciting for Asia rugby to have two world-class events,” he told the South China Morning Post. “The rankings Terence is referring to cover a wide range of factors, including training pitches and stadium facilities – we are looking forward to the new Kai Tak Stadium, as it’s only fitting the world’s most iconic sevens tournament is hosted in the world’s best venue. Listen you sad, obsessed Hong Kong Stadium loyalists – let it go! The Sevens must move to Kai Tak Sports Park “Terence asked me for tickets to our Sevens last week, so I’ll look forward to a bit of banter over a beer as to whose tournament is better!” The players’ village in Singapore was a hit with teams, allowing players to rest and relax between matches, enjoy their meals and even undergo physiotherapy. Top speeds of the #HSBC7s 2018.@fijirugby’s Alasio Naduva puts the foot down and hits 36 kmph at last year’s Singapore Sevens pic.twitter.com/fketrfkl3J — World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) November 21, 2018 “To have an event like this, and run it well, will help to motivate and inspire the next generation of rugby players and grow interest in the sport as Singaporeans get to watch world-class athletes up close,” Rugby Singapore chairman David Lim was quoted as saying. Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018: Hong Kong needs Kai Tak Sports Park stadium to keep top dog status, as San Francisco proves The Singapore Sevens this year takes place from April 13-14 at the National Stadium, one week after the Cathay Pacific-HSBC Hong Kong Sevens. Around 55,000 people watched the 2018 Singapore tournament over two days while Hong Kong can boast more than 120,000 over three days, along with a teeming fans village across the road from the stadium.