Mike Jansen Hung Hom, Hong Kong 17 July 2012
Those of you who know (of) me will know that the Cathay Pacific HSBC Hong Kong Sevens is my ‘home‘ tournament, so to speak… having been a resident of this Chinese Special Administrative Region (SAR) for the past five years.
‘Sevens Week‘ has always been a special week for expatriate South Africans like me as this is not only the week that sees hundreds of Saffas flowing in to the city (some bearing BILTONG and the odd bottle of Red Heart Rum!), but also the week that we welcome our own Springbok Sevens Team to our home-away-from-home.
Here are some images of my first HK7s as a Hong Kong resident way back in 2007… in the days when the Blitzbokke were represented by a youthful Mzwandile Stick, Mpho Mbiyozo, Marius Schoeman, Gobani Bobo and Jonathan Mokuena (amongst others). The Saffa-tourists pictured with my kids became their heroes when they handed over a moerse bag of Springbok biltong!
The Hong Kong RFU today confirmed the dates for next year’s Hong Kong Sevens with this release:
The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU) is pleased to confirm that next year’s Cathay Pacific HSBC Hong Kong Sevens will be held on Friday 22 to Sunday 24 March 2013 as the seventh leg of the IRB’s expanded ten tournament HSBC Sevens World Series.
The Hong Kong Sevens is often referred to as the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the Series and in 2012 was again the largest event as nearly 120,000 spectators revelled in the atmosphere over the three days welcoming 24 international teams to Asia’s World City.
“We are extremely proud of the success of the Cathay Pacific HSBC Hong Kong Sevens and will continue to push the boundaries to ensure we can reward our loyal fans with another memorable event in 2013,” said HKRFU Chairman, Trevor Gregory.
Grace Cheung, Manager Marketing Communications, Cathay Pacific said:
“Cathay Pacific has had a long-standing and happy association with The Hong Kong Sevens since its inception in 1976. We are proud and delighted to continue our support.”
Giles Morgan, Group Head of Sponsorship and Events, HSBC Holdings said:
“HSBC enjoyed a highly successful return to the Hong Kong Sevens this year and we are delighted to once again join Cathay Pacific as proud co-title sponsor of the 2013 Tournament.
Our historic long-term investment in rugby around the world and the Bank’s heritage here in Hong Kong means that this sponsorship remains at the very heart of our international rugby portfolio.
No doubt we can look forward to yet more high quality and entertaining sevens rugby in Hong Kong next year and indeed across the newly-expanded HSBC Sevens World Series.”
The HSBC Sevens World Series has been expanded to include a tenth leg in Argentina reflecting the strong global demand for the sport as it counts down to its Olympic Games debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
The next season of the HSBC Sevens World Series 2012/13
Round 1 13-14 Oct 2012 Australia (Gold Coast)
Round 2 20-21 Oct 2012 Argentina (La Plata)
Round 3 30 Nov – 1 Dec 2012 Dubai
Round 4 7-8 Dec 2012 South Africa (Port Elizabeth)
Round 5 1-2 Feb 2013 New Zealand (Wellington)
Round 6 8-10 Feb 2013 USA (Las Vegas)
Round 7 22-24 Mar 2013 Cathay Pacific HSBC Hong Kong Sevens
Round 8 30-31 Mar 2013Japan (Tokyo)
Round 9 4-5 May 2013 Scotland (Glasgow)
Round 10 11-12 May 2013England (London)
See you all in Hong Kong in 2013!
Have a squizz at some more of my Hong Kong 7s and other rugby & Saffa-related images by clicking here or on the BlitzBokke Flickr site by clicking here
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