Record four-in-a-row sports awards triumph for Hong Kong sevens team
For the fourth time in a row, the Hong Kong men’s sevens squad were on Thursday declared winners of the Samsung Hong Kong Sports Stars Award for a Team Only Sport.
For the fourth time in a row, the Hong Kong men’s sevens squad were declared the winners of the Samsung Hong Kong Sports Stars Award for a Team Only Sport on Thursday night.
“It’s an honour,” said Dai Rees, the HKRFU’s head of performance and technical development. “I think it reflects the fact that we had another good season in 2013 and our results are now becoming more and more consistent.
“We qualified for the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow and finished the HSBC Sevens World Series with a ranking of 16th overall. We were also invited to the IOC World Games in Colombia, finishing in fifth place, and took second place overall in the HSBC Asian Sevens Series.
Rees added that winning the award for 2013 – adding to previous victories in 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012 – would be a strong motivational boost for the squad, who are currently in Zimbabwe for the Harare International Sevens and will be battling for promotion to the HSBC Sevens World Series at the end of the month.
The winner of the 12-team Qualifier Competition at this year’s Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens (March 28-30) will earn an automatic playing spot on the global circuit for the 2014-15 season.
Hong Kong had an impressive run in the Sevens last year, when they finished runners-up in the Bowl. They beat World Series core teams Argentina and USA in the quarter-final and semi-final, before bowing out to England in the final.