Hong Kong Sevens Tickets

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

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

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

Auckland and The World Awaits… The Women’s Rugby World Cup

The bitterly cold wind has faded as the weekend approaches leaving the City of Sails bathed in spring sunshine for the start of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 – played in 2022. 

Covid forced a twelve-month delay and destroyed the qualification hopes of several countries including Hong Kong. But for those who made it, the extra year has allowed them time to improve…

The opening day’s matches at the iconic Eden Park are a 45,000 sell out and the merchandise booth in the city centre is doing brisk business as young and old get ready for the tournament to begin.

New Zealand is a rugby-mad country, but Auckland in its first major event post covid is not really ‘feeling’ the RWC2021 yet… And it’s the visiting Fijians who are making the noise as Fijiana make their debut at a Women’s World Cup.

All the matches can be enjoyed on World Rugby’s free live stream and Auckland is 5 hours ahead of Hong Kong.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2022/20221007-Womens-World-Cup-in-New-Zealand/i-TXxrf3n

 

Hong Kong Target Sevens World Series

The 2022 Sevens Challenger Series kicks off in Santiago, Chile on the 12-14 August, with qualification to the World Sevens Series awaiting the winner. As Hong Kong’s coach Paul John puts it “Everybody wants to be on the World Series and test themselves against the best in the world.”

Speaking about the squad he’s picked John continued “There’s a lot of experience in the boys who got picked. They’re the ones who have been consistently putting their hands up during training and the competitions we’ve had  recently.”

The Challenger Series is three-day tournament, with 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams competing to achieve core status on the Series. Hong Kong are in Pool B with Tonga, Jamaica and Zimbabwe.

2022 Sevens Challenger Series captains

Captain Max Woodward says the squad want to shed their ‘nearly men’ tag and is blunt about his desire: “As long as I’ve been playing 7s for Hong Kong I’ve wanted to get on the [World Sevens] Series. It would mean a massive amount to me, and I know the rest of the squad feel the same way. We’ve been so close before and the yearning is there.”

“We’re very excited to play a winner takes all tournament – knowing that we are one of the favourites and the chance to win is very much within our capability is a real boost.,” added Woodward.

Watch the 2022 Sevens Challenger Series live on the World Rugby website.

Hong Kong Men’s Sevens Squad
Max Woodward (Captain), Callum McCullough, Michael Coverdale, Kane Boucaut, Alessandro Nardoni, Pierce Mackinlay-West, Sebastian Brien, Lee Ka To Cado, Hugo Stiles, Russell Webb, Alex McQueen, Harry Sayers, Max Denmark, Yiu Kam Shing.

Additional reporting and images: World Rugby, HKRU