HONG KONG—This is the week Hong Kong celebrates Rugby, culminating with the annual Hong Kong Sevens. It is a rugby fest on and off the pitch, with tournaments, meetings, dinners, parties and now a concert to celebrate all that’s good with the oval ball. The high-point is The Sevens (to those who have seen the event grow from humble beginnings into a coveted slot on the global sports calendar)...or to be correct, leg 7 of the World Rugby, HSBC Sevens Series, the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens. Let’s stick with The Sevens: more romantic, respectful and gives a nod of recognition for the shape of World Sevens today. Without Hong Kong, would rugby be returning to Rio or would Rugby ever put together an international circuit of events?
This tournament is still special: for three days the Hong Kong heaves and hums with over 35,000 spectators per day...and has the deservedly unique status of hosting the Qualifying competition for one lucky nation to join the Circuit next season. The Qualifying event is the only competition over the weekend, where there’s ’skin in the game'...winner takes all. The rest of the games are all about points, and jockeying for position on the points table...if you win or lose, there’s boost to the team confidence or better luck next time...and next time is only a week away in Singapore...same format, same teams (just about), same officials, different city... perhaps fewer folk on the terraces. It’s Rugby’s equivalent to Formula One.
The event Hong Kong is ‘leg 7’ (I am sure one day there will be 12 legs, two in each global region of World Rugby) and no longer ’the last weekend of March‘...a traditional fixture in the Hong Kong calendar that foreshadowed Easter, signified the start of summer, and welcomed the upcoming school holidays. It was as much a local fixation as a Public Holiday weekend. The event is now, and will be for the forseeable future, ’sometime’ in April.
The hype for Hong Kong begins along way out, with Long lunches, event planning and selling tickets to the public. But it is the week before when, the intensity starts.
Next week involves at two Tens Tournaments, a Women’s Sevens tournament, countless corporate lunches (this is a corporate event, relaying on a long list of sponsors), player events and a celebrity concert, designed to create a ‘party atmosphere’ for the public. And a Harbour Front Fan Zone, that brings the action into Town, for those who prefer watching on the Big Screen, and opted not to beg, borrow or steal for a ticket, and prefer a more civilized way to enjoy the event, and still be in Hong Kong.
Despite the hoopla off-pitch it is what happens on pitch that really matters. This is still a professional sports event, with serious athletes performing at an exceedingly high level. Try keeping pace with one of these teams if you wish to understand what level of aerobic fitness you need to last just one match, let alone six.
In the primary competition, there are four teams in contention for the title this season. The current leader is Fiji on 106 points, with wins in Dubai and Las Vegas; South Africa on 105 points with a win in Cape Town; New Zealand, on 104points with wins in Wellington, Sydney and Vancouver. Australia is 4th with 90points but has shown good form in recent competition.
These four teams will be joined in the main competition by Argentina, Canada, England, France, Kenya, Portugal, Russia, Samoa, Scotland, the USA, Wales and South Korea. The tournament, plays for a Cup, Plate, Bowl and Shield, with points on offer from 22points for a win in the Cup, to lpoint for a semi-final loss in the Shield.
Rio looms large…
This year’s tournament is preparation for Rio. Rugby returns to the Olympics in August 2016, albeit in the Sevens format and not the XV a-side game (as it was in 1920 and 1924). Many of the teams who have already qualified (11 of the 12 teams that will compete at Rio have qualified, and all play in Hong Kong) will be building squad strength and assessing players. Better known players from international XV a-side rugby will be aiming to prove their fitness and skills to warrant selection in their country Sevens squad: including Sonny Bill Williams and Liam Messam (New Zealand); Quade Cooper and Nick Cummings (Australia); Bryan Habana and Francois Hougard (South Africa); Virimi Vakatawa (France) and from the NFL and New England Patriots, Nate Ebner (USA).
Hong Kong hopes and expects…
In the Qualifying tournament 12 teams, two from each of the global regions of World Rugby, will compete for one slot available next season on the World Sevens circuit. The teams competing are Morocco and Zimbabwe (Africa), Hong Kong and Japan (Asia), Germany and Spain (Europe), Cayman Islands and Mexico (North America), Brazil and Chile (South America) and Papua New Guinea and Tonga (Oceania). For the Cayman Islands it is their Hong Kong Sevens debut.
The Qualifying tournament has the strongest local interest. Hong Kong will compete in the same group as Zimbabwe, Germany and the Cayman Islands. If they qualify Hong Kong still need to face arch-rivals Japan, or the talent of Brazil and Spain. The Qualifying tournament is competitive and tough. There is no ‘next week’ to get the playbook right or redress a poor performance. Hong Kong is a full-time professional team; this will be professional rugby at its best and most unforgiving.
The Hong Kong Men’s team will be captained by Max Woodward, with experienced players like Rowan Varty (his 11th Hong Kong Sevens) and former captain Jamie Hood in the squad. The other squad members form a mix of youth and experience, and for the first time introducing players from the Elite Training Centre. The Hong Kong squad is Jack Capon, Michael Coverdale, Cado Lee Ka To, James Cunningham, Toby Fenn, Lee Jones, Chris Maize, Ryan Meacheam, Alex McQueen, Ben Rimene, and Salom Yiu Kam Shing.
There is also a Women’s event next week, with the final played on Friday evening at the Hong Kong Sevens. There are ten women’s teams competing in two pools of five teams. Hong Kong host Pool B, which includes Japan, Argentina, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Pool A is headed by France with South Africa, Kazakhstan, China and Kenya. Three teams, Japan, France and Kenya have qualified for Rio. This will be an excellent benchmark for Hong Kong. They need to face the Asian sevens Champions Japan in their Pool, and have the opportunity to measure themselves against international sides of quality like France and Kenya, who have both qualified for Rio.
Hong Kong will be led by a new captain, twenty-three year old, Natasha Olson-Thorne, replacing the injured Royce Chan Leong Sze and Christy Cheng Ka Chi. The Hong Kong squad, hoping to reach the final, will be Candy Cheng Tsz Ting, Adrienne Garvey, Colleen Tjosvold, Lindsay Varty, Christine Gordon, Chong Ka Yan, Kwong Sau Yan, Melody Li Nim Yan, Nam Ka Man, Lee Tsz Ting and Aggie Poon Pak Yan.
For both Hong Men and Women, the Hong Kong Sevens is the final major tournament before both teams compete in their respective repechage Olympic qualifying tournaments. The winners of each tournament will again ’take all'; this time the last remaining team slot at Rio. The Men play in Monaco in June and the Women in Dublin.
For some this weekend will be one big Party, for others it’s about points and honing the skills on the road to Rio, and for one team it’s ‘all or nothing’ for place on next year’s circuit. Let play begin.
Grahame Carder is a sports enthusiast and former player from representative Schoolboy level, through University and most corners where he has lived, currently works as Consultant on Strategy and Marketing.
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