The New Zealand All Blacks has played Australia’s Wallabies in Hong Kong on two occasions as part of the Bledisloe Cup. Sadly it seems that 2010 was the last year local fans of the two Antipodean rugby greats will have seen a Bledisloe match played in the SAR.
The All Blacks and Wallabies will contest the Bledisloe Cup over three Tests under a revamped format to take effect in 2012, the New Zealand and Australian rugby unions announced Saturday.
The new arrangement replaces the present system where the Cup, the symbol of trans-Tasman rugby supremacy, is contested as part of the Tri-Nations tournament which also involves South Africa.
From next year, the third and possibly deciding match will be hosted alternately between the two countries, following their home and away clashes in the Tri-Nations.
The first additional Bledisloe Cup Test will be hosted by Australia in October 2012 and there are no plans to take it to a neutral venue as has happened in recent years.
Hong Kong fans pose with some players and the Bledisloe Cup (Pic: Mike Jansen 2010)
New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew said the additional Test was part of a new All Blacks schedule which includes three Tests in June, the expanded Tri-Nations which takes in Argentina from 2012, and the end of year northern hemisphere tour.
“Our expectation, supported by feedback from our fans, is that a three-match Bledisloe Cup Series will be keenly followed and fits well into our season,” Tew said.
Fan research in both Australia and New Zealand supported the Bledisloe Cup being contested over a three-match series, rather than two as it was for many years prior to the expansion of the Tri Nations, Tew added.
Mike Jansen took the following pictures at last year’s Bledisloe Cup clash in Hong Kong:
As my apartment is located in Hung Hom on Hong Kong’s Kowloon (the “dark side”), I often give you my view of the busy, busy Victoria Harbour from that side.
I recently took the Star Ferry from the opposite side (Central Ferry Pier) and made a video clip on my Zoopy-branded Flip-Cam to show you just how busy the channel between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island really is.
In the clip you first notice the world-famous Star Ferry departing the Central Ferry Pier.
Then, as the Ferry disappears from view, you’ll notice 2 barges transporting sand, cement and other construction materials.
Also appearing in view is a harbour tour/catering junk (with faux-sails).
Then, lastly, you’ll notice an outlying-island ferry (orange and white) coming in to dock at the Central Ferry pier.
Just another 2 minutes in a busy, busy, busy Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong.
There’s no doubt that the world’s weather patterns are changing… almost radically and Hong Kong is not left out of this phenomenon.
Take last week’s Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens.
Last year at the same time, I had to take two extra t-shirts along because of the hot and muggy weather. Add into the equation my must-do foray into the madness that is the South Stand and I need a third shirt.
This year around we experienced temperatures of around 16degrees Celsius and some really chilly winds blowing through the Hong Kong Stadium.
However, today it seems that Spring has finally sprung this side of the noodle-curtain.
As Howzit Online Media I run two blogs: BlitzBokke.com as well as Howzit-HongKong.com, my account of a South African’s life on this side of the noodle-curtain.
As such I have been posting about the Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens on both blogs.
People have been mailing me asking about pictures and videos from the weekend’s mayhem I mean rugby, that I have decided to posted all of them in one page.
Keep you eye on this page though as I am still finding new pictures that I will be adding to the sets below.
Here then is a compilation of the pictures from the HK Sevens (and Rugby Week):
The unveiling of the Guinness-certified World’s Biggest Rugby Ball:
How the World’s Biggest Rugby Ball was made and transported to Hong Kong:
The Air Asia Hong Kong Beach 5s
Laureus brings together the Soweto Schools Rugby Programme (SSRP) and the BlitzBokke:
SAAHK Sevens Dinner with Morne Du Plessis and the BlitzBokke:
Rugby stars hold a coaching clinic with SSRP and Operation Breakthrough:
On the train into Hong Kong Island for Day 2 of the Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens, I saw some “pelicans” the “Power Rangers,” “Kiss” (the band).
While I can’t say if they were South Africans dressed up, there are plenty of Green & Gold jersey around the stadium.
Other the Springbok Fans in Boerewors Bend, there are lots of Bok jerseys behind me in the Media Box (Western Stand).
I’m going to venture into the infamous South Stand in a while, but here are some images of the Saffas I’ve taken so far:
Howzit-HongKong.com was at Repulse Bay today to witness the curtains coming down on the first AirAsia Hong Kong Beach 5s in spectacular style this afternoon.
Escapade 6 Bros and a White Boy (Men’s) and Valley Boom (Women’s) were crowned the Cup champions in front of hundreds of spectators at a custom-built beach rugby venue at Hong Kong’s iconic Repulse Bay.
Escapade 6 Bros and a White Boy defeated University Bachelors 11-1 in a spirited men’s final, with Valley Boom defeating Lost & Found by a margin of 7-0 in the women’s division.
The winning men’s team picked up flights to Phuket courtesy of AirAsia and HK$16,000 (approx. US$2,000), while the women’s champions banked HK$10,000 (US$1,250) and AirAsia flights to Kota Kinabalu.
More than 200 competitors took part in this weekend’s rugby competition, with dozens of mini-ruby players also having the chance to learn from rugby legends including David Campese and Christian Cullen as part of the festivities. However, the inaugural AirAsia Hong Kong Beach 5s was about more than just the rugby.
In addition to the volleyball and rugby, DJs, kids rugby games, instant giveaways and a bucking bronco ride were all part draw for the public.
I attended the event with my son Ethan, who had great fun drawing beach art (strategically) in front of the Pimm’s stall!
With hundreds of competitors and the backing of the world’s best low-cost carrier, AirAsia, the inaugural AirAsia Hong Kong Beach 5s was the region’s biggest beach rugby tournament. The first edition of the two-day event, played the weekend before the famous Hong Kong Sevens, featured men’s and women’s teams contesting the beach version of the game in a five-a-side format with three reserves also on each team.
Beach rugby is an exciting shortened version of the game that is becoming increasingly popular around the world, with major events held in France, Italy and the US to name just a few. At 35 metres by 25 metres, the field is a fraction of the size of a standard rugby pitch, with fewer players on each team, shorter matches and a simplified scoring system making the competition fast paced, entertaining and action packed.
See you at Repulse Bay next year for the Air Asia Hong Kong Beach 5s!
I have received many requests from abroad about where to stay for the Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens, so here is Part 1 (TST).
Please visit this page regularly as I will be updating the information in the coming days.
In a nutshell, you can choose between 2 areas: Hong Kong Island, where the Hong Kong Stadium is situated, or Tsim Sha Tsui also called TST (Kowloon-side) where accommodation is generally cheaper.
If you choose the latter, traveling to Hong Kong Island for the Sevens (or Wan Chai and Lan Kwai Fong for the parties!) is easy and only about 5-10 minutes away by MTR (underground rail system). If you have time on your hands, a Star Ferry-trip across Victoria Harbour is a great choice; in fact it’s a must-see.
Here is a map of Tsim Sha Tsui:
The 24 teams stay in the official hotel, The Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel in the bottom, left-hand corner of the map.
After too many days offline, our webhosts Yahoo! has assured us that the technical difficulties are a thing of the past and that we can resume doing what we do best.
I’m happy to say that we’re going to be picking up the pace here on Howzit-HongKong.com
The 2011 Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens is almost upon us and there’s much to report on until the Springboks arrive in the City.
Thanks for you patience and continued support.
Like the Hong Kongers like to say “Give Oil!”
As always, you can still catch us on Twitter @HowzitHongKong on Flickr as well as YouTube
The annual fireworks extravaganza to usher in the Year of the Rabbit, took place last night (Friday 4 February 2011) over Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour.
About 300,000 people gathered on either side of Victoria Harbour on Tsim Sha Tsui- and Central-side to watch the display.
Many more watched from boats and other water-craft parked a safe distance outside our apartment window as you can see from the first clip in the video below.
The fireworks display lasted for exactly 23 minutes and 23 seconds which must have some auspicious significance.
Below is a shortened clip of the 23 minute display:
When we talk about the different influences that contributed to the making of Cape Town music, and Cape Jazz in particular, there is one nation and one genre that stands out above all the others:
Brazil and the Samba.
Samba music, it’s beat, it’s people and their love for their roots. These encapsulate Cape Town people and our connection to our music.
I’d like to think that something good came out of the world-wide scourge of slavery.
Music.
You can find African beats in the music of nations all of the world because of the slaves who were forcibly transported there.
As they were in Cape Town.
“But Cape Town IS African” I hear you say.
Ja, it is, but slaves were also imported TO Cape Town from other parts of the world. In the case of Cape Town we received slaves from (the old) Java/Indonesia, Malaysia, India and many other places.
Like we said before, all of these peoples AND their music made Cape Town music what it is today.
But today we pay tribute to Brazil and their influence on the Cape Town sound and who else to focus on but the Brazilian master himself:
Now I am not ‘qualified’ to tell you much about it, so here’s a Cape Town ghoema legend in Mac McKenzie who knows:
Earlier in the Victoria Harbour Sundowner Sessions we featured a Cape Town legend in the late Tony Schilder.
Tony penned a song called “Obrigado Brazil” that smoothly blends the Brazilian and Cape Town sounds into one.
The Victoria Harbour Sundowner Sessions #23: Mitchell’s Plain Samba
He also made famous a song dedicated to the people of Mitchell’s Plain (a coloured township on the wind-swept Cape Flats) called Mitchell’s Plain Samba.
We’d like to share this with you and pay tribute to Brazil and it’s people.
Over the next few Sundays, Howzit-HongKong.com will feature a YouTube clip of one (or more) of the musicians and their sounds who have influenced and shaped South African and specifically Cape Town music as part of what we like to call The Victoria Harbour Sundowner Sessions. I am fortunate to be living right next to one of the most stunning working harbours in the world… Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour. I often find myself staring across the Harbour at night, with the lights dimmed and one of my favourite musicians from home over the speakers. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do…
