KowloonFest @ Kings Park – 4 April, 2024

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!

IMG_3384

A7302519

A7302551

A7302309

IMG_3363

IMG_3327

IMG_3392

Click on any photo to see the full gallery of images

Beautiful!!!

Beautiful!!!
Hong Kong’s women’s 7s team runout at the Hong Kong Sevens for the first time!!

Brilliant!!!
Agnes Tse scores a historic first try for Hong Kong on their Seven’s World Series debut.

image: Takumi Photography

HK Sevens
Date: 31 March – 2 April, 2023
Venue: HK Stadium
Tickets: $1,950
More info: www.HKsevens.com

Harry Harrison Designed Charity Rugby Balls

300 limited edition Harry Harrison-designed rugby balls have gone on sale to support local charity Rugby For Good.

A renowned local satirical cartoonist, Harrison’s balls feature a dragon and the Hong Kong Stadium and cost $300, order one here.harrys balls 2023

HK Sevens
Date: 31 March – 2 April, 2023
Venue: HK Stadium
Tickets: $1,950
More info: www.HKsevens.com

Hong Kong Squads Announced for The Sevens

The Hong Kong Rugby Union has announced experienced women’s and men’s squads for the Hong Kong Sevens.

Experienced co-captains Natasha Olson-Thorne and Melody Li Nim-yan will take the women’s team into its first ever World Rugby Sevens Series tournament this weekend when the Sevens hosts a full Series tournament for the first time in its history.

The team has a largely veteran cast with Nam Ka-man, Stephanie Chan Chor-ki, Jessica Ho Wai-on, Chloe Chan, Maggie Au Yeung Sin-yi and Agnes Tse Wing-kiu joining the co-captains. Rising stars Lam Tsz-yan, Micayla Baltazar, Julia Mba Oyana and Allianz Premiership player Rosie Wright are all included as the women look to use their debut World Series appearance inside the stadium this weekend, and then at the Singapore Sevens, as a stepping stone for the World Rugby Sevens Series qualifiers in South Africa at end April.

Head Sevens coach Paul John spoke about the opportunities and challenges that lie in store, saying: “This is the biggest test the girls have ever had. We have a difficult group but we have to embrace that, learn from it, and take the experience of a lifetime out of this weekend. The biggest challenge is to respect, not fear, our opponents,” said John.

 “Hong Kong is a great way to start our progression to the Asian Games. Every player wants to play in that stadium, but it is just the start of an exciting time for the squad. From Friday until the end of April there are three huge tournaments for us to play in, which is brilliant.

 “We have to approach it that way as well. The top teams in the world are here this week, and we need to learn from that. It is what we play for; it is why we are professional athletes – to test ourselves against the best – and hopefully the girls will do themselves proud. If they play to the best of their ability they can enjoy it,” said John.

 Hong Kong are in Pool A with Series leaders New Zealand, Canada and Team Great Britain. Their first match against New Zealand is on Friday at 14.16.

Hong Kong men's Sevens squad 2023

Hong Kong’s men’s squad is also laden with experience with nine players returning from November’s Sevens including captain Max Woodward – marking his sixth tournament (five times as captain) in 2023.

Hong Kong Rugby’s most capped player, the evergreen Salom Yiu Kam-sing, will celebrate a 12th appearance at the Sevens. This weekend also marks Yiu’s 70th sevens appearance for Hong Kong.

Alex McQueen marks his ninth showing, while senior players Russell Webb and Seb Brien make their fourth appearances at the Hong Kong Stadium. Top finisher Max Denmark makes his third Hong Kong Sevens appearance this weekend. Alessandro Nardoni, Pierce Mackinlay-West and Mak Kwai-chung will also mark their second tournaments.

Two X-factor players have also recovered from injury battles to make debuts in 2023 in Liam Herbert and Hugo Stiles, both of whom were side-lined by injuries for last November’s tournament.

Stiles whose 2022 debut was derailed by a late injury has returned to fitness and will mark his debut Hong Kong Sevens despite being in the squad for several years and having represented Hong Kong, China at two Rugby World Cup Sevens and an Asian Games final already.

Similarly, Herbert has been a fixture in the squad having played in numerous international competitions and now experiencing a first taste of the Hong Kong environment. James Christie and Callum McCullough are also making their first appearance at the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens in 2023.

“Missing out last year, but getting in this time is a dream come true to be honest as a Hong Kong kid”

“The squad is rugby ready,” said men’s coach Jevon Groves. “It has been a tough selection, and there are some very good players missing out, but over this next month there is more of a view to the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series. We want to give guys opportunity so we can have the most competitive squad we can for the Challengers and to push for a place on the circuit.

“Hong Kong and the Singapore Sevens the week after will show where we are at now. Last November, we showed we could compete in parts, and in parts we were below the standard required, so we are looking for that consistency. The Challenger is not an easy thing to win, it will be tough but we have to allow guys to push for spots.”

“There will be some real competition over the next weeks, but it is very tough for the guys to be told they are not playing in Hong Kong. But for those guys that have been raised on the Hong Kong Sevens this is a fantastic opportunity for them,” Groves said.

Two players raised on the Sevens are Stiles and Christie. The 26-year old Stiles said today that the two had played against each other at U9s level (Christie for Football Club and Stiles for Valley) in the Sevens youth rugby showcase 15 years previous, and now both are coming full circle in 2023.

“Since then, I have not really set foot on the pitch in the stadium, so it is going to be an awesome weekend,” said Stiles, who picked up a neck and shoulder injury shortly before last November’s Sevens.

“Missing out last year, but getting in this time is a dream come true to be honest as a Hong Kong kid,” said Stiles.

Hong Kong are in pool B with France, Team Great Britain and Uruguay in Pool B and will close out the tournament’s opening day against France at 20.33.

HK7s women 2023 HK7s men 2023

image: Takumi Photography

HK Sevens
Date: 31 March – 2 April, 2023
Venue: HK Stadium
Tickets: $1,950
More info: www.HKsevens.com

Hong Kong Raised Nancy McGillivray Selected for England’s Red Roses

Congratulations to Nancy McGillivray who becomes the first player raised in Hong Kong to be selected for the England Rugby senior women’s squad.

McGillivray grew up in Hong Kong playing mini and youth rugby for DB Pirates and age grade for the HK teams. She had two seasons with Kowloon rugby and then headed off to university in the United Kingdom.

Nancy McGillivray England squad March 2023

Rugby Week 2023

After the individual creativity of Art Week, the wonders of team creativity are on display as Rugby Week 2023 scrums down.

Unfortunately, the traditional rugby week curtain-raiser Kowloonfest has been postponed again until 2024 – the old and venerable taking longer to recover and reboot post covid.

This year’s action starts with, perhaps the best rugby of the week, the Hong Kong 10s at Hong Kong Football Club on Wednesday 29 March. Proper scrums and brutal power forward play are features of the Tens, especially on Thursday night. It’s perhaps the closest we in Hong Kong can get to seeing modern rugby up close and personal. Select teams packed with talent and big names, new and old, from around the world put a physicality and rawness to images seen on television that really needs to be experienced in person.

Amidst the Sevens partying,  a rugby tournament takes place… After November’s empty stadium, harsh crowd restrictions and drab atmosphere – can the Sevens recover its allure as one of the world’s great sporting/social events?

Here are the dates for your Rugby Week 2023 diary.

Kowloon Fest
When: postponed to 2024
More info: www.rugbyfest.org

Hong Kong Tens
When: 29-30 March, 2023
Where: Hong Kong Football Club
How much: $120
More info: www.hkfc10s.com

HK Sevens
Date: 31 March – 2 April, 2023
Venue: HK Stadium
Tickets: $1,950
More info: www.HKsevens.com

Rugby Week 2019

After the individual creativity of Art Week, the wonders of team creativity are on display as Rugby Week 2019 scrums down.

The action starts at King’s Park on Wednesday 3 April with KowloonFest where the old and venerable rumble around the pitch and have a lot of fun as their brain sees them sprinting to score a fantastic try only to find their legs unable to keep up…

While the 7s is all speed and patterns, perhaps the best rugby of the week is at the Hong Kong Tens. With proper scrums and brutal power forward play the Tens features, especially on Thursday night, perhaps the closest we in Hong Kong can get to seeing modern rugby up close and personal. Select teams packed with talent, new and old, from around the world put a physicality and rawness to images seen on television that really has to be experienced in person.

The wonderful HK Women’s Seven is again a qualifier for the Women’s World Series. If you can’t get a ticket to the Sevens then head to So Kon Po and cheer on Hong Kong.

The Sevens, amidst the partying a rugby tournament takes place. The quality of the other World Series tournaments isn’t as good as in the past – empty stadiums on the World Series attest to that. Yet Hong Kong still sees teams raising their game…

Here are the dates for your diary for what promises to be some fantastic sport and a lot of fun.

Kowloon Fest
When: 3 April, 2019
Where: Kings Park
How much: Free
More info: www.rugbyfest.org

Hong Kong Tens
Date: 3-4 April, 2019
Venue: HK Football Club
Tickets: $125, $100 (advance)
More info: www.hongkongtens.com

Hong Kong Women’s Rugby Sevens
Date: 4-5 April, 2019
Venue: So Kon Po
Tickets: Free
More info: www.facebook.com/hkwr.sevens

Hong Kong 7s
Date: 5-7 April, 2019
Venue: HK Stadium
Tickets: $1,950 (sold out)
More info: www.hksevens.com

HK Womens Sevens @ So Kon Po – 5 April, 2018

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2018/Hong-Kong-Womens-Sevens-So-Kon-Po-5-April-2018/i-ST3DrNC

A packed crowd at So Kon Po enjoyed a sun-drenched day of exciting rugby at the 2018 HK Women’s Rugby Sevens. Apart from a superb solo try by Natasha Olson Thorne, in a hard fought 17-12 victory against Kazakhstan, there was little local cheer as two heavy defeats against Brazil (38-0) and China (19-7) meant the hosts again failed to reach day two and a first experience of the HK Stadium atmosphere.
Click on any photo for the full gallery of images.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2018/Hong-Kong-Womens-Sevens-So-Kon-Po-5-April-2018/i-JkD2nFK

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2018/Hong-Kong-Womens-Sevens-So-Kon-Po-5-April-2018/i-M29cMdb

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2018/Hong-Kong-Womens-Sevens-So-Kon-Po-5-April-2018/i-Fs7wknJ

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2018/Hong-Kong-Womens-Sevens-So-Kon-Po-5-April-2018/i-9TfjdX4

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2018/Hong-Kong-Womens-Sevens-So-Kon-Po-5-April-2018/i-fvKzG3J