(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!

(From BlitzBokke.com)

The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union (HKRFU) today announced that the public ticket sale for the 2012 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens will be held via local ticketing service Cityline this Saturday, January 14, 2012.

To further enhance the ticket purchasing process and convenience for local consumers, tickets for the 2012 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens will be retailed via ticketing service Cityline.

Tickets will be sold exclusively online via www.cityline.com. No tickets will be sold via Cityline Outlets or Call Centres.

Online ticket sale will begin at 10.00am on January 14, 2012.

To ensure the widest possible distribution of tickets in the local community, each patron will be limited to purchase only two tickets. Each applicant will also be required to verify their local residency with a valid Hong Kong or Macau SAR postal address for registered mail or courier services.

Tickets will be distributed to successful applicants starting from March 1, 2012 via registered mail or courier service only (additional cost may incur and details are available at www.cityline.com). There will be no personal collection of tickets.

Following the increased demand from Hong Kong rugby clubs, Youth and Mini Rugby Sections and members of the local rugby community as well as other HKRFU stakeholders during the initial pre-sale period, the HKRFU today announced that 4,000 tickets will be available for sale to the public.

The 2012 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens will be held from March 23 – 25 at the Hong Kong Stadium.

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(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.

The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union have announced that Cathay Pacific and HSBC will be the new co-title sponsors of the world-famous Hong Kong Sevens from 2012 – 2015.

The sponsorship agreement with previous co-sponsor Credit Suisse concluded at the end of the successful 2011 tournament.

The four-year sponsorship agreement announced today resumes a successful partnership between these two iconic Hong Kong institutions and the world’s pre-eminent international sevens. Cathay Pacific and HSBC’s previous joint sponsorship of the Hong Kong Sevens ran from 1980 through to the first of two Rugby World Cup Sevens held in Hong Kong in 1997.

Under the new sponsorship agreement the event title will be the Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens.

Cathay Flight Attendant Margaret Lai, Trevor Gregory (HKRFU), John Slosar Chief Executive, Cathay Pacific, Stuart Gulliver, Global Chief Executive, HSBC, Brian Stevenson (HKRFU), Ida Chan, Cathay Pacific Flight attendant. Front row: Twins and Hong Kong mini rugby players Janice Chan Shang-yan and Jeffery Chan Shang-Ming

HSBC’s sponsorship of the Hong Kong Sevens continues its growing support of Sevens internationally through the HSBC Sevens World Series and marks its only title sponsorship of an HSBC Sevens World Series event to date.

The continued involvement of Cathay Pacific as an event sponsor strengthens a 30-year association with the Hong Kong Sevens – a unique longevity in international sports sponsorship.

The Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2012 will be held on 23-25 March.

(Source: BlitzBokke.com)

Following our speculation a week ago here on Howzit-HongKong, the Australian Rugby Union has confirmed that a Hong Kong Bledisloe Cup clash is a thing of the past.

The Bledisloe Cup will not be played in Asia in the short term after the revamp of the Australia-New Zealand series into a three Test match series over the next 10 years, the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) said on Thursday.

A trans-Tasman Bledisloe Cup has been staged in Hong Kong (2008, 2010) and Tokyo (2009) over the last three years.

Last year’s Test in Hong Kong was tarnished by a lower than expected turnout with just 26 000 paying to watch the action in the 40 000-capacity Hong Kong Stadium.

Now that a decision has been made between the New Zealand Rugby Union and ARU to stage an additional Test each year between the two countries there was no room for a Bledisloe Cup game in Asia, the ARU said.

“In the short term ARU will not be looking to host its additional Bledisloe Cup Test in venues outside of Australia,” an ARU spokesperson confirmed.

                                     The All Blacks show off the Bledisloe Cup at the HK Stadium (Pic: The Telegraph)

The third Bledisloe Cup Test each year will alternate between Australia and New Zealand and be played at the conclusion of the expanded Four Nations tournament also featuring South Africa and Argentina, getting under way next year, the ARU said.

(Source: AFP)

Bledisloe Cup 2010: HK Fans’ Day

Howzit-HongKong.com attended the Asian5Nations match between hosts Hong Kong and Asian rugby powerhouse Japan at a packed Hong Kong Football Club (HKFC) today.

We’ve been attending events there for the last 4 years and today’s crowd was probably the best we’re encountered.  While entrance was free, there were plenty of families taking in the atmosphere.  The visitors had strong support from locally-based Japanese but the crowd was firmly behind the home team.

Out on the pitch it was a rusty Japan who eked out a win against a spirited Hong Kong, and the disappointment showed on coach John Kirwan face immediately after the match.

“The only positive out of this game was the win (45 – 22),” said Kirwan (pictured below by Mike Jansen). “But I’d rather this happens now than later on this season. We have plenty of work to do.”

Japan ran in seven tries – five of them in the first half – with winger Alisi Tupuailai grabbing a hat-trick. No.8 Ryukoliniasi Holani, flyhalf Shaun Webb, left winger Hirotoki Onozawa and flanker Michael Leitch also scored one each. Centre Ryan Nicholas collected 10 points from the boot.

No. 14 Alisi Tupuailai almost scored his 4th try but fumbled the pass with a few minutes left on the clock and time running out for HK (Pic: Mike Jansen)

But the glut turned into a drought as Hong Kong bravely fought back and took their chances superbly to leave Japan in disarray by the end of the game.

“It was a poor performance from our team,” Kirwan said. “We didn’t protect the ball and we lost our composure. I thought we were rusty at halftime, but we got rustier as the game wore on.”

Despite pre-game worries by Kirwan of a slow start, the players who are all in the preliminary World Cup squad came out firing on all cylinders, dominating both set pieces as well as in the loose to look threatening. But the spark died down after the break as a gutsy Hong Kong didn’t let up.

Gutsy Hong Kong fight-back

“We got in their faces and put them under pressure,” said Hong Kong national coach Dai Rees. “This is the best performance in recent years against Japan and the guys can be very proud of themselves.”

Hong Kong’s second-half resurgence began with a lovely break from fullback Ross Armour, who made up for his first-half sin-binning, by slicing through the midfield and sending an inside pass to replacement winger Alex McQueen who scored under the posts.

Hong Kong then capitalised on Japanese errors to run in two more tries. The first came from openside flanker Mark Goosen, who picked up from a breakdown and took the direct route to the tryline catching the defence flatfooted. Then winger Rowan Varty turned on the speed when he picked up a dropped pass metres from his own line to run the length of the pitch and score.

A slip of the finger made this a black&white, but when you have to snap Rowan Varty gunning for the line, there are no second chances and you have to be ready! Thankfully I got the shot. (Pic: Mike Jansen)

“We took our chances. We had two 50-50 chances to score tries and we took them,” Rees said. “We had an unfortunate first half and were hard done by in contact areas, but all credit to the guys for coming back strongly.”

Hong Kong captain Tom McColl praised his side for the resilience showed against Japan who has dominated the tournament since it began in 2008.

“I’m really happy that we didn’t give up. The disappointing thing is that we couldn’t quite get the bonus point for scoring four tries. This was our goal before the game, to be in contention for a win at the end or to try and score four tries,” McColl said.

“We gave away a few early soft tries but then our defence picked up. What we proved today is that we can compete with Japan and this is a huge morale boost for the team,” McColl added.

Asian5Nations Standings

The United Arab Emirates 24-10 victory over Kazakhstan leaves them at the top of the standings with eight points after round two. Japan is in second place with six points but with a game in hand on the rest of the pack. Hong Kong lie third (five points) followed by Sri Lanka (three) and Kazakhstan (0).

Howzit-HongKong attended the local-leg of the HSBC HSBC ARFU Rugby Coaching Tour at the Hong Kong Football Club earlier today.

Japan coach John Kirwan showed his passion for the development of rugby in Asia as he taught aspiring local youngsters the finer points of the game.  JK, as Kirwan is affectionately known, was ably assisted by former Scotland coach Frank Hadden and Malaysia coach Dean Herewini, representing the HSBC Penguin International Coaching Academy.

“I believe that there is huge potential for rugby in Asia so it’s great for me to work with local kids and get them enthused about the game. It’s really good for me to give back to the game as well, as I have got a lot out of it,” said Kirwan, who is contributing to the HSBC ARFU Rugby Coaching Tour while leading Japan around the continent as they bid for a fourth straight HSBC Asian 5 Nations title.

The former New Zealand winger, who has been in Hong Kong for over a week, launched this year’s HSBC ARFU Rugby Coaching Tour in Hong Kong in March along with fellow All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu.

Sharing the knowledge: The Penguins’ Dean Herewini exchanges ideas with a local coach (Pic: Mike Jansen)

Jonny Hamp, Head of Rugby Sponsorship – Asia, said: “HSBC is teaming up with ARFU to encourage more youngsters to take up the game of rugby through the HSBC ARFU Rugby Coaching Tour and it’s rewarding to see how this is already achieving its goals.

“HSBC sponsors every level of rugby from grassroots coaching to world-class competitions and teams, so it’s important to us that the coaching clinics we’ve had today continue around Asia as we look to grow the popularity of this great sport around the region.”

HSBC ARFU Coaching Tour 2011

March 23 Hong Kong

April 20-23 Colombo, Sri Lanka

April 28-30 Hong Kong

May 5-7 Bangkok, Thailand

May 11-13 Dubai, UAE

May 19-21 Hong Kong

May 19-21 Colombo, Sri Lanka

June 2-4 Incheon/Seoul, Korea

(Further dates may be added and will be confirmed in due course)

We pulled Kirwan away from his busy task and asked him a few questions:

(Video formatted for iPhone. More images on our Flickr page)

Week 2 of the 2011 Asian 5 Nations Rugby Tournament comes to Hong Kong this weekend.

Hong Kong host defending champions Japan this Saturday in the HSBC Asian 5 Nations, the continent’s premier 15-a-side national team rugby competition.

The match kicks off at Hong Kong Football Club at 4.00pm and entry is free.

Elsewhere, the UAE host Kazakhstan in Abu Dhabi on Friday in this week’s other fixture, while Top Five first-timers Sri Lanka have a bye.

Hong Kong have the toughest task as they face Japan, who last week had a bye and instead travelled to the SAR early as they begin their quest for a fourth successive HSBC Asian 5 Nations, while also preparing for this year’s Rugby World Cup.

Hong Kong began their campaign last week with a trip to Almaty, where they won 23-10 against Kazakhstan, runners-up to Japan in last year’s HSBC Asian 5 Nations.

Coach of Japan John Kirwan has stated that his Japan side will be fully motivated as they seek to continue their 100 per cent record in the competition since it began in 2008.

Kirwan, a star for New Zealand as they won the World Cup in 1987, will also be active this Thursday with the HSBC ARFU Rugby Coaching Tour, which will stage clinics for youngsters from local schools and mini rugby clubs during the week and the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children on match day.

Former Scotland coach Frank Hadden, the HSBC Penguin International Coaching Academy and players from Hong Kong and Japan will all be involved in the sessions.

Mark McCombe, CEO of HSBC Hong Kong, said: “HSBC is looking forward to Hong Kong’s first home match in the 2011 HSBC Asian 5 Nations and we know there will be a big, enthusiastic crowd cheering them on.

“It’s part of our investment in the game as we seek to introduce more and more people in the SAR to the game of rugby.

“As such, we’re excited about the ongoing grassroots work being done by the HSBC ARFU Rugby Coaching Tour including the ongoing relationship with the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children. We’re also delighted that Japan coach John Kirwan, who’s also an HSBC rugby ambassador, is so actively involved in the programme,” McCombe added.

The HSBC Asian 5 Nations comprises the Top Five and a further five four-team divisions, with promotion and relegation for the top and bottom sides in each.

Hong Kong received an extra boost following their Asian 5 Nations victory over Kazakhstan as they moved up five spots in the IRB World Rankings.

First half tries by Tom McColl and Peter McKee gave Hong Kong a comfortable 20-3 half-time lead in Almaty and there was no way back for their hosts, who were reduced to 13 players after the break with two sent-off. The game ended 23-10.

Hong Kong’s win over the 2010 runners-up lifts them above Germany, Tunisia, Kenya, Poland and Korea to 32nd and their highest ranking for two years. Defeat means Kazakhstan fall to 30th.

Hong Kong now return home to face defending champions Japan on Saturday, a side who overwhelmed them 94-5 last year en route to claiming Asia’s place at World Cup 2011.

(Source: IRB)

Officials at the launch of the Asian 5 Nations Tournament in 2010

Newly-promoted Sri Lanka was left ruing a disallowed try as they fought to a pulsating 13-13 draw against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on their debut in the HSBC Asian Five Nations Top Five competition.

A 4,000-strong partisan crowd at a waterlogged Ceylonese Rugby Football Club in Colombo groaned in disbelief after the local touch judge ruled that substitute winger Lasitha Costa hadn’t legitimately grounded the ball minutes before full-time.

Important win for Hong Kong

In Almaty, Hong Kong came away with a superb 23-10 victory over Kazakhstan who was reduced to 13 men midway through the second half after red cards were handed to two forwards for foul play.

First-half tries to skipper Tom McColl and scrumhalf Peter McKee allowed Hong Kong to ease to a 20-3 lead at halftime. Fly-half Keith Robertson added 13 points with the boot.

Waterlogged Colombo

The stakes were high in Colombo with both the UAE and Sri Lanka targeting a win to ensure they stayed in the Top Five next year. It ended in a stalemate, but not before the televised game had seen plenty of drama.

A scoreless first half was a prelude to all-out action in the next 40 minutes as the lead swung hands. Sri Lanka took an 8-0 lead with winger Nuwan Hettiarachchi knocking over a penalty and a try from tighthead prop Eranda Swarnatillaka.

It started with a lovely break by scrumhalf Roshan Weeraratne, when from a lineout deep inside his own 22, he caught the entire UAE defence napping when he took the direct route, through the pack, and made 50 metres before passing to Swarnatillaka to score.

UAE came back strongly with tries from tighthead prop Dan Boatwright and left winger Steve Smith and a Jonathon Grady penalty gave them a 13-8 lead. But the home team hit back through Hettiarachchi who covered 50 metres to complete a rare backline move.

The touchline conversion was missed by fullback Saliya Kumara, resulting in the scores being level at 13-all and the tension mounting. Nerves cost Sri Lanka as both Hettiarachchi and Kumara missed easy penalties late in the match that would have sealed the win.

But the home side seemed to have won the game when Costa slid over for what he thought was a match-winning try, only for it to be disallowed by referee Tobi Lothian after consulting with the touch judge who said he had knocked on.

Nuwan Hettarachchi makes a splash for Sri Lanka with the first try of the match vs. UAE (Pic: Elite Step Asia)

“The result was very disappointing. We created enough opportunities to win and it should have really come down to goal kicking,” said Sri Lanka coach Ellis Meachen, who coached Tonga at the last Rugby World Cup.

“All in all we played enough good rugby to win the game. UAE played well in close quarters but didn’t offer anything in the backs. I have been here for four months but this is the first time I woke up and it has rained. We haven’t trained in the rain and the boys did very well in alien conditions. Sri Lanka should be proud of them,” Meachen said.

Week 1: Hong Kong tops the Log

Today’s results leave Hong Kong on top of the HSBC A5N table on five points, while Sri Lanka and UAE are level on three points.

Hong Kong will take on Japan next Saturday (April 30) at Hong Kong Football Club while Kazakhstan travel to Abu Dhabi to face the UAE on Friday evening (April 29 at Zayed Sports City) in what will be a crucial opportunity for last year’s HSBC Asian 5 Nations runners-up to get points on the series board.

UAE on the charge against Sri Lanka (Pic: Elite Step Asia)