bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

quizIds

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Josh Ball

The Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens is over for another year, and what a weekend it was – an incredible coming-out party for the tournament’s new home and a thrilling three days of rugby.
Argentina’s men won for the first time, and New Zealand’s women for the third in a row, and Hong Kong’s teams put together a double delight for the home crowd.
So, after 74 matches, countless tries, world-class entertainment and a couple of hiccups, here are five things we learned this weekend.
Kai Tak Stadium
What can you say, by any metric the city’s newest sporting venue is a stunning location for sport.
There is no bad view from any area, unless you’re queuing for food and we’ll get to that later, and the players and officials were all wowed by it.


The future is certainly bright, and Hong Kong China Rugby hosted several other unions, signing a memorandum of understanding with their Japanese counterparts and strengthening ties with Australia.
Brett Robinson, the chairman of World Rugby, even hinted at what might lie ahead for a venue “just amazing for rugby”.
“What other events could come here outside of the Sevens programme. Some of the major unions are here, so what other games could be brought here potentially in the future. It’s just such an incredible facility.”
What price the return of the Bledisloe Cup, or a visit from the British & Irish Lions now that Hong Kong has a venue worthy of matches of that calibre.
New Zealand dominance
Let’s be honest, we didn’t really learn anything new here about the Black Ferns, they are triple champions for a reason.
Utterly dominant in Hong Kong, the old stadium was their house and Kai Tak Stadium looks like being no different. On their day, New Zealand’s women are just unstoppable.
But in Jorja Miller we met another star off the Kiwi production line and her two-try performance in the 26-19 victory over Australia cemented the 21-year-old’s name in Hong Kong lore.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy one, and we went out there and got the job done,” Miller said, in typically understated New Zealand fashion.
Ridiculous food failure
Not so much one elephant in the room as a herd stomping around Kai Tak for three days making sure no one could ignore their presence.
The entire food and drink side of the weekend was a total disaster from start to finish, and the people responsible should be facing some very tough questioning over the next few days. Unless they’ve already done the decent thing.
What we learned was that Kai Tak Sports Park might have wanted to keep all the goodies for themselves, but outside vendors are the experts and they never got into that mess at Hong Kong Stadium. Of course they ran out of some food items, but when they did they told people, they didn’t make them queue for 30 minutes then tell them.
All of which brings us to something we also already knew, Sevens fans like to drink, a lot. Some 82,000 litres of beer was sold across the three days, and 350,000 items of food and drink consumed – just think what that number could have been.

The South Stand’s not dead
For many, the South Stand is the Sevens and moving to a new home raised fears it might not be the same, well we’re all good on that score.
The fancy dress, the party atmosphere, the noise and the energy that more often than not drives the whole occasion were all there.
While it did not always look as full as it has done in the past, the sweeping concourse, next to and behind the magnificent new stage, held those who weren’t in their seats.
And fans loved it too. Romain Soula, who travelled from Toulouse for the weekend, echoed the thoughts of many.
“I heard a lot about Hong Kong, being told it is the best, the biggest, the most popular and with the best atmosphere,” the 21-year-old said. “And that’s real. That’s really just crazy. And to be here in the South Stand, that’s just awesome.”
It’s here to stay
The HSBC SVNS Series has well-publicised problems, from a lack of interest in some markets to questions over its long-term sustainability in a world more focused on climate change and the impact of travel than ever before.
What is not in doubt is Hong Kong’s status in the sport, which has only been reinforced by another successful weekend when attendance passed 110,000 for the three days, and 38,352 people were on hand for Sunday’s final.
And so back to the chairman of the global governing body, who as a former Wallaby and “pretty average sevens player” had played in Dubai and Singapore, but had never been to Hong Kong before.
“To be 55 and to be finally here is pretty special,” Robinson said. “It is one of the great sevens events of the global calendar, it has been one of the great events of sevens over that 50 years.”


Hong Kong Sevens delivers a winner in Kai Tak stadium

HSBC shareholders buzz about freebies like Sevens tickets, have fewer dividend complaints

‘Successful try’ at the Sevens proves game changer for stadium

Hong Kong Sevens: Kaiser Chiefs proud to play at Kai Tak Stadium first – before Coldplay

Hong Kong Sevens

Hong Kong Sevens: 5 things we learned from another incredible weekend of rugby

The Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens closed with its traditional fireworks display, but this time in its new home at Kai Tak Stadium. Photo: Eugene Lee

History made at Hong Kong Sevens’ shiny new Kai Tak home but questions remain

The men’s and women’s champions, Argentina and New Zealand, share the limelight on the final day of the Hong Kong Sevens at Kai Tak Stadium. Photo: Sam Tsang

Hong Kong leader John Lee presents the Sevens trophy to Argentina’s captain, Santiago Mare. Photo: Handout

New Zealand’s Jazmin Felix-Hotham is tackled in the women’s final against Australia. Photo: Sam Tsang

A Cathay Pacific A350 brings back memories with a flight over Kai Tak. Photo: Eugene Lee

The supply of food and certain drinks was an issue over the weekend. Photo: Harvey Kong

Hong Kong Sevens: Cathay fly-past evokes fond memories of Kai Tak Airport

The Airbus A350 plane performs a low-altitude fly-past over Victoria Harbour as part of celebrations for the100th anniversary of the old Kai Tak Airport, now the site of Kai Tak Sports Park. Photo: Eugene Lee

Many spectators inside the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium did not see the fly-past except on a large LED screen, as they were directed to look above the open roof rather than through the windows of the South Stand. Photo: Elson Li

Crowds take photos of the Cathay plane flying low over Kai Tak Sports Park, the old site of the former Kai Tak Airport. Photo: Dickson Lee

Sport

Rugby

HK Sevens

Hong Kong Rugby Union

An incredible stadium, food failures, New Zealand dominance and the next 50 years of Sevens in the city


An incredible stadium, food failures, New Zealand dominance and the next 50 years of Sevens in the city.


Hong Kong Sevens: Latest news

Hong Kong Sevens: Explainers

HSBC Sevens World Series