Hong Kong Sevens

Hong Kong Sevens
Sports	Rugby Union ( 7-a-side rugby )
Founded	1976
Teams	24
Last winner	Fiji Fiji
Website	www.hksevens.com

The Hong Kong Sevens (also known as HSBC / Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sevens for sponsorship reasons ) is the most popular tournament in the World Rugby Sevens Series , a series of 7-a-side rugby competitions . It is held annually on the last weekend in March in Hong Kong and is organized by the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU).

24 national teams compete for victory, which is rewarded with 30 points for the IRB Sevens World Series. In the other tournaments in the series, only 16 teams compete against each other and the winner receives 20 points. A total of US $ 150,000 in prize money will be paid out. The record winner is Fiji with 17 wins.

history

Opening ceremony 2008

The Hong Kong Sevens was founded in 1976 after a meeting between the President of the HKRFU ADC "Tokkie" Smith and the managing director of the tobacco company Rothmans Ian Gow. Gow's idea was to found an international tournament that was financed by his employer. On March 28, 1976, clubs from South Korea , Australia , New Zealand , Tonga , Japan , Sri Lanka , Malaysia and Fiji met for the first time as part of the competition. This was an important step for the amateur sport of rugby union at the time , as this tournament was one of the first with sponsors.

In the next few years the club teams were replaced by national teams, which helped the Hong Kong Sevens to greater popularity. In 1994, a year after the first Rugby 7th World Cup was held , the Hong Kong Stadium was expanded to 40,000 seats to withstand the crowds. In 1997, Hong Kong hosted the second World Cup, the same year the country became a Special Administrative Region of China. Meanwhile rugby union had become a professional sport. In 2000 the IRB Sevens World Series was launched and the Hong Kong tournament was a fundamental part of this series of competitions. In 2005, a 7-World Cup was held again.