Home is where the hope is as Hong Kong try to join big boys on IRB World Series

Third time lucky? Hong Kong hope so as they bid to join the big boys by winning the 12-team qualifying competition at the Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens this weekend.

Twice Hong Kong have fallen short. In 2012 at Hong Kong Stadium, they were knocked out by Japan after losing playmaker Keith Robertson in the quarter-finals to a red card.

Last year, as reigning Asian sevens champions, Hong Kong earned direct entry for the final qualifiers at the London Sevens. But Canada, Portugal and Spain, tried and tested from an entire season of playing in the World Series, won back their spots after being "relegated".

"I certainly hope it is third time lucky," says Rowan Varty, who was involved in both attempts, and will be turning out for the ninth time at the Hong Kong Sevens. "I think this is our best chance at qualifying."

Unlike last year, the winner in Hong Kong will definitely be promoted to the IRB World Series - instead of the farcical situation last year when Hong Kong and the four pre-qualifiers faced teams who had been relegated but were instantly thrown back into the qualifiers.

But there is an even more concrete cause for Varty's optimism: for the first time Hong Kong will field a team of full-time professional players. The inclusion of rugby sevens as an elite sport at the Hong Kong Sports Institute has raised expectations.