Why the Hong Kong Sevens will be wary after Singapore event’s promising start

Follow @JamesPorteous A popular pastime in Hong Kong is to look at Singapore and, like anxious schoolboys, compare our parts with theirs. In recent months alone we read in the SCMP that: ‘Singapore is turning into arts hub while Hong Kong stuck in the mud’; ‘Hong Kong is losing out to Singapore in terms of public financial knowledge’; ‘Singapore is looking sweet as foreign investors turn away from Hong Kong’, ‘Hong Kong overtaken by Singapore as third leading global financial centre’ and ‘Hong Kong ranked 70th in list of world cities, lags Singapore’. Let’s not even mention other obvious evidence of our tragic inferiority, such as allowing people to chew gum, and not executing or caning criminals (yet). Frenemy cities: a look at Hong Kong, Singapore's rivalry and partnership as Lion City marks key anniversary So with Singapore hosting a leg of the World Sevens Series, how might this affect the Hong Kong Sevens, the competition’s flagship? When a PR company implored us to take in last weekend’s tournament all-expenses-paid, the suspicion was that it was struggling. (We declined the offer). And at the HK Sevens, a Singapore native told us it would be a dud, though one of his key complaints was that recent alcohol restrictions implemented in the red-light district would be anathema to any right-thinking rugby bloke on tour in Asia. So, while we fail to match up to the straits interpolers in most regards, at least our rugby tournament has nothing to fear ... does it? Singapore claimed crowds of some 50,000 over the two days; though the 55,000-capacity venue seemed less than half-full on TV, perhaps a lot were at the bar. On the pitch, they delivered a perfectly run tournament with a stunning, worldwide headline-grabbing, first-ever win for Kenya. WATCH: 2016 Singapore Sevens highlights Hotels were “delighted by the influx of tourists” according to local press, superstar DJ Pete Tong was in attendance to thrill the crowd, while the city’s manufactured booze-zone Clarke Quay hosted a three-day music festival so “fans can resume merry-making”, in the words of organisers. But according to one regular HK Sevens attendee who was at the event, “Hong Kong has nothing to fear”. While praising the action on the pitch, he wasn’t too impressed with the “contrived fun” put on for the crowd, and was positively aghast at the minuscule cups in which beer was served (limited to four per customer, in the name of all that’s holy). Another HK regular who went also decried the “nanny state” four-cup rule and added: “The manic pageantry with intense team tribalism is what sets Hong Kong apart – that and a sense of humour.” According to a local journalist, there had been an “obvious attempt to bill it as a drunken weekend, HK Mk 2” before a switch to a more ‘family-oriented’ campaign, perhaps prompted by a tap on the shoulder from World Rugby. Whether they fully succeeded at either is debatable. The manic pageantry with intense team tribalism is what sets Hong Kong apart – that and a sense of humour Hong Kong Sevens regular Meanwhile, one fan said it all went a bit Pete Tong for Pete Tong as he took to the decks after the final: the beer was switched off, prompting an exodus. Still, for their first major sevens event since 2006, Singapore can pat themselves on the back. “I think getting about 50,000 fans over two days for the first year was a pretty encouraging start. I’d imagine next year will have similar, or maybe slightly bigger crowds,” said a local sports journalist. “I wouldn’t say the atmosphere was electric but it was noisy at times and probably would have been better had it been a NZ-Fiji final.” Having Singapore immediately follow HK is not ideal for them, much as Singapore Grand Prix organisers aren’t happy about being back-to-back with the Malaysian GP. But as the F1 event, in its ninth year, shows, Singapore can deliver top sport. If they iron out teething troubles and ramp up the marketing, their sevens might present a new – and considerably cheaper – alternative to HK for foreign fans. It’s certainly easier to get tickets, and sitting in air-cooled comfort with the retractable roof closed might be more attractive to many than getting drowned in a typical HK Sevens downpour. “We must make sure we do an ever better job next year so that they keep coming back,” said Singapore Rugby Union chairman Low Teo Ping. Low “seems to have the ear of World Rugby bosses” said a local journalist, “so I think they will remain on the calendar for a good while. I’m sure it will grow.” It’s worth noting that the sevens wasn’t the only world-class event in Singapore that weekend: at the Sports Hub’s indoor stadium, the world’s top badminton players were in action, with several thousand fans there too. Meanwhile, work on our own Sports Hub remains nowhere near commencement, let alone completion. GDP, happiness, English skills, who knows? But in sporting infrastructure we’re definitely lagging behind our ‘rivals’.

Why the Hong Kong Sevens will be wary after Singapore event’s promising start

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}HK regulars said the Lion City tournament couldn’t compare just yet – but local organisers should be on their guard

HK regulars said the Lion City tournament couldn’t compare just yet – but local organisers should be on their guard