(from BlitzBokke.com)

The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU) announced that after today’s public ticket sale, the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens is now officially sold out.

The world-renowned Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens expects to welcome 120,000 visitors over three days from March 23 – 25, 2012.

Remaining 4,000 tickets

After an initial pre-sale period for international package buyers and local rugby clubs and supporters, the last remaining 4,000 event tickets were sold today to members of the Hong Kong public. To ensure the widest possible distribution of tickets in the local community, each buyer was allowed to purchase a maximum of two tickets in today’s sale.

Following today’s sale, and the pre-sale period for members of local rugby clubs from adult to youth and mini rugby and other HKRFU stakeholders, fully 75% of the 40,000 tickets available in 2012 were sold to local residents.

Trevor Gregory, Chairman of the HKRFU, commented on today’s sellout saying, “This year’s Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens has once again attracted extraordinary demand. On behalf of the HKRFU, I would like to thank the Hong Kong community for their continued support. The 2012 Hong Kong Sevens will again provide a significant boost to the local economy and Hong Kong’s international reputation. We look forward to hosting another full house at the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens this March.”

Online frustration

A quick social media scan among local South Africans revealed that, as in previous years when tickets where sold by local online retailer HKTicketing, this year’s vendor CityLine didn’t fare much better.

“I gave up after 20 minutes.” said Eugene Wong. Katharine Schäfli concurred: “Meanwhile Cityline’s servers groan under the strain of the number of hits……. no improvement from HK Ticketing then!”

However, Monique Tenderini had more patience and was luckier. “(It) took nearly 3 hours but I managed to get 2. Was using 2 iPads, a pc and a laptop…”

See you at The Sevens!

My late father was a huge fan of Nat King Cole’s and often regaled us with his classic Christmas Song (Chestnuts roasting on an open fire) during the Cape Town Christmas holidays.

Of course Cape Town temperatures often exceed 30degrees celsius so we had no understanding of that song, other than our dad doing it so well… all the time pottering around on our Yamaha electric organ. He did too. Also, chestnuts aren’t big in South Africa so that entire experience was lost on us as kids.

Until I moved to Asia.

I first encountered chestnuts (and cold Decembers) living in Northern Taiwan.

Roaming Taipei city, shopping for Christmas gifts, I often encountered street vendors selling hot, roasted chestnuts to eager passers-by.

But it was here in Hong Kong that I grew to love not only the hot nuts, but also the smell of the coal fire and roasting nuts being churned manually on the streets of this bustling city.

I bought some today just outside the Tin Hau MTR and took some pics:

One pound of roasted chestnuts coming up…

Here’s the great Nat King Cole…

Those of you who have been following my ramblings here on Howzit-HongKong.com will know full well about my bitching about the lack off South African wines on the Hong Kong shelves.

Since my first post on this issue I’ve been at a loss of words on this issue but today, on my usual trawl of the South African daily papers, I probably found (one of the reasons) for the discrepancy.

Seems the head honcho of the SA Wine Export marketers (WOSA), one Su Birch have been in the thick of things as far as SA Wines’ import attempts into Hong Kong/China is concerned. And NOT in a good way.

Read this report from TimesLive…

Seems Su Birch has not exactly endeared herself into the local wine inport/export community with her comments.

More to follow…

Mike Jansen

(Hung Hom)

Blistering half centuries by Abdul Razzaq and Sohail Tanvir guided Pakistan to a 35-run victory over England to be crowned champions at the Karp Group Hong Kong Sixes on Sunday.

Captain Razzaq smashed 63 not out, while the left-handed Tanvir battered 58, as Pakistan set an imposing target of 155.

It was too much for England who regularly lost wickets before being bowled out with two balls left in the final eight-ball over, sparking jubilation among most of the 4 500-strong crowd at the Kowloon Cricket Club (KCC).

The victory saw Pakistan draw level with England as the team with the most number of wins at the big-hitting event – each on five. South Africa, who were disappointing over the weekend have won at the KCC three time: 1995, 2006 and 2009.

But Pakistan warned they will be back for more.

A  jubilant Pakistan celebrates with the spoils (Pic: Victor Fraile, The Power of Sport Images/HKCA)

“We are delighted to have matched England with five wins a piece. But we want to make it six next year,” said skipper Abdul Razzaq who was named Man-of-the-Match.

“It was a superb batting display,” conceded England captain Rory Hamilton-Brown. “We were up against some world-class players and getting to the final itself was creditable for us.”

Pakistan had looked in good nick for the event and even outshone the All Star team boasting countryman Shahid Afridi and Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya.

The All Stars bowed out in the quarter-finals, failing to defend a sizeable total of 118 against Sri Lanka who made it home in the very last delivery.

The Ben Hollioake award for Player-of-the-Tournament went to Pakistan’s Umar Akmal who aggregated 197 runs and set the event alight with his fierce batting.

The Currie Cup Final at Delaneys Irish Bar last night, coupled with a WanChai brimming with Halloween revelers meant that Day 3 started rather late for me.

Thankfully, I made it to the Kowloon Cricket Club (KCC) just in time for the third match of the day:

South Africa vs. Australia.

I’m not sure if the South Africans managed to catch any rugby last night, but the Lions’ win in the Currie Cup Final seemed to have motivated them against the Aussies.

South Africa managed their first win in four starts at the 2011 Karp Group Hong Kong Sixes, thumping Australia by 47 runs.  The win however, was but a morale-boosting exercise as both teams were eliminated from the competition on Day 2.

The fixtures for Day 3 are:

08h30 China Women vs. HK Women

09h15  Bangladesh vs. New Zealand

10h00  Australia vs. South Africa (Result: South Africa DEFEAT Australia by 47 runs)

10h45 1st quarter-final Woodworm All Stars vs. Sri Lanka (Result: Sri Lanka DEFEAT Woodworm All Stars)

11h30  2nd quarter-final England vs. India (Result: England DEFEAT India)

12h15  3rd quarter-final Hong Kong vs. Scotland (Result: Hong Kong DEFEAT Scotland)

13h00  4th quarter-final Ireland vs. Pakistan (Result: Pakistan DEFEAT Ireland)

13h45  Exhibition match: China vs. HK Development team

14h30 1st Semi-final: Sri Lanka vs. England (Result: England DEFEAT Sri Lanka)

15h15 2nd Semi-final: Hong Kong vs. Pakistan (Result: Pakistan DEFEAT Hong Kong)

16h15  Final England vs. Pakistan

Congratulations to Pakistan with their comprehensive victory over England to secure the 2011 Karp Group Hong Kong Sixes title for the fifth time.

Images and summaries to follow…

Day 2 of the Karp Group Hong Kong Sixes here at the Kowloon Cricket Club (KCC) has been blessed with another morning of glorious sunshine.

The stands are slowly filling up in anticipation of a full day of exciting cricket.

That the host team Hong Kong just beat crowd-favorites Pakistan will certainly do much for the spirit in the bleachers.  Let’s hope we can get a full-house today.

The fixtures for the day:

0845-0930 Pakistan v. Hong Kong (Result: Hong Kong DEFEAT Pakistan)

0930-1015 Australia v. Bangladesh (Result: Bangladesh DEFEAT Australia)

1015-1100 Woodworm All Stars v. Scotland (Result: Scotland DEFEAT Woodworm All Stars by 5 wickets)

1100-1145 South Africa v. India (Result: India DEFEAT South Africa by 5 runs)

1145-1230 Sri Lanka v. New Zealand (Result: Sri Lanka DEFEAT New Zealand)

1230-1315 England v. Ireland (Result: Ireland DEFEAT England)

1315-1400 South Africa v. Hong Kong (Result: Hong Kong DEFEAT South Africa)

1400-1445 Woodworm All Stars v. Sri Lanka (Result: Woodworm All Stars DEFEAT Sri Lanka)

1445-1530 Pakistan v. India (Result: Pakistan DEFEAT India)

1530-1615 Australia v. England (Result: England DEFEAT Australia)

1615-1700 Woodworm All Stars v. New Zealand (Result: All Stars DEFEAT New Zealand)

Through to tomorrow’s quarter-finals of the Karp Group Hong Kong Sixes are:

Scotland, Sri Lanka, Woodworm All Stars, Ireland, England, India, Hong Kong and Pakistan

Losing out on a quarter-final spot are:

South Africa, Australia, Bangladesh and New Zealand.

Video: SA vs India (final over)

Mangaliso Mosehle is caught (SA vs.Hong Kong)

Mangaliso Mosehle is caught (SA vs. India)

While the local Hong Kong authorities have issued a ‘Red Travel Alert‘ for local tour groups, we would like to advise South Africans planning to visit Thailand to get a connecting flight to the Southern Thai Islands.

Hong Kong has cancelled all package tours to Bangkok as the floodwaters advanced on the Thai capital.

The move – which affects around 50 tours and 1,500 people – will stay in force until November 1, said the Hong Kong Travel Industry Council.  It follows the issue of a red travel alert for Bangkok by the Hong Kong government.

The alert is the second most serious travel warnings in a three-tier system and advises people to avoid all non-essential travel to areas seriously affected by flooding.

According to the Thai authorities, 28 provinces have been hit by the flooding which has affected the lives of around 2.5 million people and caused at least 366 deaths since mid-July.

The floodwater is now advancing into the capital and threatening the main commercial districts, electricity supplies and transport services, prompting the government to declare a five-day special holiday to allow people to prepare for the floods.

At present, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport is operating normally. However, the city’s second airport, Don Muang, which normally operates around 100 domestic flights a day, has been closed because of flooding on the runways.

So, if you’re planning to fly to Thailand, don’t dispair. Simply fly intoSuvarnabhumi International Airport, catch a connecting flight to Phuket or Koh Samui and enjoy the Island Life!

It’s still dry out there.

Koh Samui Aiport… the prettiest airport in the world!

(Source: Gulf News)

Continuing their commitment to rugby, both on a domestic and international level, Emirates Airline has recently announced their sponsorship of a new 15-a-side tournament – the Emirates Four Nations Cup.

The weeklong event will take place from December 9 to 16 at the Sevens, immediately after highly popular Dubai Rugby 7′s tournament.

This initiative, developed by UAE Rugby and supported by the Hong Kong RFC, ARFU and the IRB, will provide an extra layer of activity identified by the IRB as being critical to the development of nations who wish to improve their international rugby standing.

As the first cross border and cross continent tournament of its kind, the Emirates Four Nations Cup will allow four ambitious National XV’s teams to play more international games providing greater preparation for their respective Regional Tournaments and IRB competitions.

The four teams competing in 2011′s inaugural Emirates Four Nations Cup are: Kenya (Confederation of African Rugby), Brazil (Confederación Sudamericana de Rugby), Hong Kong (Asian Rugby Football Union) and host nation, UAE (Asian Rugby Football Union).

Click here to read more.

It’s been nearly a month of mostly exciting rugby from the Rugby World Cup (RWC) in New Zealand.  However, after this weekend, for 8 teams it means the business-end of RWC2011 has arrived.

The time difference between New Zealand and Hong Kong has meant that we haven’t been required to rise as early as our compatriots back home.

The Pool stages of the competition has just concluded with the final Pool match between Ireland and Italy with Brian O’Driscol’s team running out victors over (former Bok coach) Nick Mallet’s Italians.

The Irish victory now means that South Africa has a rather more tough quarter-final match against fellow Tri-Nations side Australia.

Here are all the quarter-final match as well as the schedule (Hong Kong time):

Quarter Finals

Saturday 08/10 – 13:00 Ireland – Wales (Wellington)

Saturday 08/10 – 15:30 England – France (Auckland)

Sunday   09/10 – 13:00 South Africa – Australia (Wellington)

Sunday   09/10 – 15:30 New Zealand – Argentina (Auckland)

If you’re a Twitter-user, add us for all the latest from RWC.  We are on @BlitzBokke

Fiery all-rounder Jacob Oram will lead New Zealand at the Karp Group Hong Kong Cricket Sixes 2011 and believes he has the ammunition to win the tournament for the first time for his country.

The New Zealand squad for the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes has been selected from the One Day International and T20 squads representing New Zealand on its tour of Zimbabwe starting 15 October 2011 in Harare.

The experience will stand the Black Caps in good stead in a challenging Pool at the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes and offers tournament organizers a wealth of options when selecting players to hit out against the Sixes All Stars in the first ever T20 match to be played at the Sixes on Friday afternoon, October 28.

Oram (pictured above), a powerful left-handed batsman and right-arm fast-medium bowler, will be at the helm of a team that also includes former test representatives and more-than useful all-rounders Nathan McCullum and James Franklin, who is currently playing in the IPL Champions League.

“We have put together a competitive squad and will go into the tournament with high hopes of winning,” said the six-foot six-inch Oram who plays for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.

New Zealand have never won the Sixes, but the mix of experience and youth is a blend that will give the Kiwis a potency as they seek to lift the US$50,000 winner’s purse at the 12-team event from October 28-30 at the Kowloon Cricket Club (KCC).

Apart from right-arm off spinner McCullum and left-arm fast bowler Franklin, the rest of the squad comprises Rob Nicol, (New Zealand Cricket’s domestic player of the year last season), Luke Woodcock, Kieran Noema-Barnett and Derek de Boorder.

“A number of players have international experience but we also have a couple of young guys who will be representing their country for the first time,” Oram said.

One to watch out for will be Noema-Barnett, a destructive batsman who has had a splendid domestic season this year, while much is expected also of wicket-keeper batsman De Boorder.

“We have a very good line up all-rounders and I’m confident we have the squad to win the tournament,” Oram added.

Oram is eagerly anticipating his debut at the Hong Kong Sixes, saying “I love the format as its quick and entertaining and I look forward to experiencing the culture and all that Hong Kong has to offer.”

The Black Caps will face an early challenge when they come up against top seeds, the All Stars, who boast explosive batsmen like Sanath Jayasuriya, Shahid Afridi and Herschelle Gibbs in their lineup. The rest of the opposition in pool A includes Sri Lanka and debutants Scotland.

The defending champions, trans-Tasman rivals Australia, head pool B which comprises England, Bangladesh and a powerful Ireland outfit who will be led by Kevin O’Brien, the player who holds the record for the fastest World Cup century, off just 50 balls. Pool C includes last year’s runners-up Pakistan, South Africa, India and hosts Hong Kong.

For the latest from the HK Sixes, follow us on Twitter by adding @BlitzBokke