One of the joys of Rugby Week is that it embraces and unites HongKongers without fear or favour of who you are, where you work or what colour your skin is.
A packed King’s Park saw players from across the globe and of every age play rugby, enjoy life, make new friends and enjoy an excellent bacon butty!
At the Kowloon Rugby Fest, there were winners, but no losers!
Click on any photo to see the full gallery of images
In the second round of qualification for the 2026 World Cup and 2027 Asian Cup at a packed Mongkok Stadium Hong Kong lost 2-0 to Uzbekistan.
Watch the highlights
images: HKFootball
Tickets for the Hong Kong Sevens go on sale today from 10am. The tournament, 5-7 April 2024, will be the 30th and last at the Hong Kong Stadium before the event moves to the new Kai Tak Sports Park in 2025.
Hong Kong Sevens
Date: 5-7 April, 2024
Venue: HK Stadium
Tickets: $1,950
More info: www.HKsevens.com
The FIA World Rallycross Championship dazzled on debut in Hong Kong this weekend as a sold-out crowd enjoyed something completely new…
Kevin Hansen made history by triumphing in the series’ first-ever race, while Johan Kristoffersson clinched his sixth career crown with a steady weekend’s racing.
Hansen delivered the most impressive performance of all, as the Swede battled back from a tough start to the day – picking up a puncture right at the beginning of qualifying practice – to top the table at the end of the heat races and then dominate both his semi-final and the all-important final. The result marked his third World RX victory – with his maximum score strengthening his grip on second position in the championship standings.
“This is just mega!” enthused the Hansen World RX Team ace. “I’ve been so excited to come to Hong Kong for so long. The crowd has been simply amazing – we could really feel the fans cheering us on – and the track has been challenging but super fun to drive. No two laps were the same so it was essential to stay laser-focused, but that’s what rallycross should be all about. The final was a great race and I would say this is my best win so far.”
FIA World Rallycross Championship
Date: 11-12 November, 2023
Venue: Central Harbourfront
Photos copyright WorldRX/Redbull
Almost 3,000 swimmers competed in the 2023 Victoria Harbour Race with Japan’s Kaiki Furuhata (14’43.9) winning by a 10th of a second from Taiwan’s Cho Cheng Chi. In the women’s race, Japan’s Hanao Kato came home first in 15’46.3.
The 1km course runs from the Golden Bauhinia Square Public Pier in Wan Chai across the harbour to the finish at the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Full results can be found here
Cross Harbour Race 2023
Date: 12 November, 2023
Venue: Victoria Harbour
Tickets: Free
World Rallycross in Central… to quote a well-known tennis player “You cannot be serious”. But it’s true and it’s happening this weekend, and well if you haven’t got a ticket yet… you’re gonna miss out on an action-packed weekend the likes of which Hong Kong has not seen before.
Rather than try to explain Rally Cross to you, watch this introductory video to the event… It’s Fast and Furious happening in Central!
To see the track being built on the Central Harbourfront… it’s silly, it’s stupid… but fuck is it wonderful. And massive kudos and respect to those who have made it happen.
This is the final round of the 2023 WorldRX Championship and Sweden’s Johan Kristoffersson has a commanding lead in the standings having won four races.
The races are being live-streamed on WorldRX TV
FIA World Rallycross Championship
Date: 11-12 November, 2023
Venue: Central Harbourfront
Tickets: tbc
After four amazing quarter-finals last weekend, the Rugby World Cup continued today with the first of the semi-finals at the Stade de France.
While it would have been too much to hope for that the semi might approach the heights of skill and attacking rugby of the quarters! The New Zealand All Blacks barely had to get out of second gear to trash Argentina – whose performances have been perhaps the biggest disappointment of the tournament.
Having started slowly, the All Blacks appear to be hitting top form as the final approaches. Who will they face, South Africa or England?
Click on any image to see the full gallery of photos.
All images copyright © of simon durrant / bc magazine
This picture is of a Toulouse taxi driver stealing my bag and passport! As a traveller, there are few things worse than watching someone steal your passport and see it disappear into the distance.
I had flown into the city to watch the Rugby World Cup match between Japan and Samoa it’s a ‘pretty’ city. Lots of wide tree-lined streets decorated with cafes offering outdoor seating – vastly different in feel and look to narrow streets of Hong Kong. A pleasant change of pace.
The rugby has been great, the atmosphere at stadiums passionate and friendly as fans from across the globe have flown in to support their teams.
To-steal though applies across the city, and the country for that matter. The lovely hostel I stayed at is ‘proud’ she only raised her rates by 10 per cent. When other hotels were doubling or tripling theirs. (In Marseille, some hostels had increased 6fold – charging between 115 and 300Euro (HK$950 -HK$2,450)for a dormitory bed!
Many of the bars and restaurants in cities hosting games have local prices and ‘rugby fan’ prices as they hope you won’t notice the difference… And for a country that prides itself on the quality of its food and wine that they still allow smoking and vaping in restaurants and cafes is ‘disappointing’. To have the flavours of your tasty, and not cheap, meal or the notes of a glass of wine destroyed by a cloud of cigarette or vape smoke gets frustrating fast.
As much as I hate their exploitative policies Uber has thrived because their drivers have in many countries made using a ‘taxi service’ an enjoyable and stress-free experience.
The many bad apples among taxi drivers, sadly including Hong Kong, having destroyed the simple convenience of using a taxi years ago
At To-steal airport I showed the driver my hotel, he quoted 15 Euros. Set the amount in the meter and drove off. Less than 100m later he was telling he wanted an extra 35 Euros (HK$350).
I told him to stop the car and let me off. And started to video his demands for more money. Whereupon he stopped the car sharply, turning around and punched me in the face as he tried to grab my phone and stop me filming. My phone flew across the car as he started driving again screaming in French.
He stopped the taxi again screaming get out, and fearful of being attacked again. I got out and went to the back to get my bag, only to have him drive off into the distance with my passport and bag.
The French police found my bag and passport. The city itself seems to have no regulation or complaint mechanisms as according to the city office they are private companies.
The rugby and the overseas fans have been great, but France, can go fuck itself!
