Hong Kong Sevens: when the world turns up for a party – on and off the pitch
- Rugby sevens stars from South Africa, New Zealand and more reveal what it means for them to play in the iconic tournament and savour the delights of the city
- Frantic, all-action knockout stages of annual tournament, which Fiji won last year, always ensure an unforgettable occasion
There’s a buzz in the air around Hong Kong that has nothing to do with spring – and everything to do with Hong Kong Sevens – considered the premier tournament of the World Rugby Sevens Series. Every year, as the world’s best players arrive from rugby sevens hotspots such as Fiji, New Zealand, England and Australia, the normal level of anticipation ahead of the weekend goes into overdrive.
This year’s 44th Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens gets underway on April 5. The event itself is instilled with history and has become an exciting sporting and festive ritualistic experience. For those people who did not grow up watching stars such as the New Zealand duo, Christian Cullen and the late Jonah Lomu – who made his name internationally at the 1994 Hong Kong Sevens – and the incomparable Fijian great Waisale Serevi, the weekend is an excuse for unabashed fun.
Nothing compares
Cecil Afrika plays rugby sevens for the South African Blitzboks. He’s a seven-time veteran of the Hong Kong tournament and his enthusiasm has never waned. Afrika was a member of the sevens team that won the bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and they have been finalists in Hong Kong four times, but never won the competition. Afrika’s goal in sevens is to be part of the first South African team to win in Hong Kong.
“The Hong Kong event is special, it’s like the final stop on the World Series, no other competition around the world can compare,” Afrika says. For him and many other players, the history of the Hong Kong Sevens as the first truly global rugby tournament has given it a legendary status.
Tim Mikkelson co-captain of New Zealand’s famed All Blacks Sevens, grew up watching the Hong Kong Sevens on television. Now sixth on the all-time list of the game’s top try scorers, he says the Hong Kong tournament is highpoint of the annual series and the one he looks forward to playing in most of all.
“The Hong Kong game stands out on its own with the history, the massive Hong Kong Stadium and the fans,” he says. “The support is unbelievable, even from the first game, with the [boisterous supporters in the] South Stand and the [fancy dress] costumes. As far as the setting, it’s a beautiful atmosphere. I can’t wait to get out there and play in front of the huge crowd in Hong Kong.”
Hong Kong Sevens was attracting international teams and spectators from around the globe well before the start of the Rugby World Cup in 1987. The action-packed nature of the competition — seven-minute halves played by teams of seven players rather than 40-minute halves played by 15 players a team — makes for a spectacle that demands tremendous energy from the players and strips away some of rugby’s complicated rules.
Energy plus
Afrika says some of his best performances have been at the Hong Kong Sevens. The atmosphere and extreme decibel levels delivered by cheering fans do not distract him and, instead, energise him and his teammates.
“In Hong Kong, the ambiance is unlike any other place,” he says. “During the game you are so engaged, you have to completely focus on playing but, subconsciously, the energy of the crowd blends in to your experience and I think it affects your performance.”
For both Afrika and Mikkelson, Hong Kong Stadium is iconic. The shape of the structure with its two open, angular wings, offering glimpses of the towering skyscrapers of Causeway Bay to the north and the verdant valley of Wong Nai Chung Gap to the south, create a feeling that is unmatched elsewhere.
Kameli Soejima, one of Japan’s highest scoring sevens players, says that the nature of the Hong Kong event is energising in a way that others in the series are not. “It makes you feel like a gladiator ready for battle,” he says. “Especially when you are in the tunnel ready to run out onto the field, it’s something you have to experience to be able to understand, it’s just unreal.”
Chiharu Nakamura, captain of Japan’s Womens Sevens team, says that playing in Hong Kong stirs up a powerful sense of nostalgia for the sport she loves. “Everything including the match organizer, match sponsors and audience is the best in Hong Kong. It makes me feel the history of sevens rugby and brings me back to the feeling I had when I started my career.”
Three-day party
On the opening day of the three-day event, the atmosphere is building up. The Friday sees fresh players and comparatively calm crowds, considering what’s in store on Saturday. This is the day when the fans wake early to perfect their festive attire, before heading to Wan Chai, where the streets are filled with people making their way to the stadium.
“The excitement begins there, before you’ve even reached the stands” Sunhera Cariappa, a Hong Kong resident who was introduced to sevens at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2017. “It is somewhat surreal to see Justice League characters, dim sum, crayons, superheroes and fairies walking down the street in Wan Chai at 7.30am.”
By mid-morning the scent of stadium fare, of pints of beer and fried chicken, pervades the air above the South Stand, an open-air party zone where almost anything goes. Seating in the South Stand is also much in demand. So fans hoping to get in on the Saturday, when the party is in full swing, best be there by 8am.
Entertainment city
Sunday sees the more serious sevens fans take their seats for the knockout stages and finals, when the games are always intense and the crowd are tense, except in moments of peak excitement when they erupt in waves and encouraging cheers.
Canadian Sevens veteran and this year's tour captain Harry Jones says the huge support he and his team receive on the field makes the Hong Kong Sevens “feel like a second home tournament. We always see a number of Canadian flags in the crowd and have met a lot of Canadians who are really rooting for us.”
Although some players can still be seen enjoying the late-night delights of SoHo and Lan Kwai Fong, Jones says that tradition has waned because of the increasing seriousness of rugby sevens tournaments — players must prioritise their rest and recovery these days. When jet lag has him up early, Jones goes out to find himself an inviting coffee shop or walks around a park and its lush gardens, where the elderly people practicing tai chi provide a fine spectacle.
Jones speaks highly of Hong Kong’s dynamism, of “the busyness and the culture of city life and then the not-too-far away forests and trails. Being down on the water as well, it has so many facets that are really great.”
Like Jones’ team, the South Africa players stay in bustling Tsim Sha Tsui, but they like to visit Hong Kong Island during the day. “We ride the ferry over to Hong Kong Island to go to The Butchers Club, [which serves] our favourite burgers in town,” Afrika says. “Then at night, from our hotel we can see everything really well, the harbour and all the city lights on [Hong Kong] Island. That is when I can see how beautiful it really is.”
Also a fan of the Star Ferry, Japan’s Nakamura looks forward to “eating Cheong Fun (rice noodle rolls) with shrimps, strolling about Lan Kwai Fong and enjoying a thrilling ride in a local taxi!”
Mikkelson savors the expansive views of Hong Kong from atop renowned Victoria Peak. At night, he and his teammates enjoy perusing the markets, sampling the piquant Cantonese food on offer, while Jones’ teammates like to barter with the lively shopkeepers in Temple Street Night Market. “It is a really busy city with mixed culture and great shopping: it’s always an awesome place to go,” he says.
For fans and players, the excitement continues long after the final whistle. Carrying on into the night on Friday will be a performance by Gwen Stefani. The exhilaration will be matched only by the sheer volume of parties that continue all weekend. From the field of play, to the South Stand, to Lan Kwai Fong, to the Sevens Village – featuring family fun and giant screens showing matches free – and After-Party, only one block from the Hong Kong Stadium, there is legendary fun to be had in Hong Kong during the Hong Kong Sevens.
Editor’s note: Diehard fans without a match-day ticket can enjoy the flavour of the sevens at the Sevens Central event on the Central Harbourfront, with the games shown on the big screen close to a 25-metre-tall Giant Rugby Ball, plus live music, food and drinks and international street performers. For families, Lee Gardens hosts the Sevens Festival with its live coverage of the games and some child-friendly fun.