Hong Kong

It’s been played by the greats of the game, from Lomu and Campese to Habana and Serevi, its atmosophere is the stuff of legend, and then there’s the food, the nightlife, not to mention the ancient history right on its doorstep – it’s for good reason that the Hong Kong Sevens is rugby’s true bucket-list event.

Victory at the Hong Kong Sevens has meant enough to some for them to declare a national holiday, so revered is this 46-year-old tournament that is almost more akin to a festival than a sporting competition.

More than a decade before the rugby diaspora would come together for the Rugby World Cup at fifteens, the annual Hong Kong Sevens was pulling together the best of rugby’s commonwealth, and creating a platform for the entertainers of the game – the Fijians, the Samoans, the New Zealanders.

Name a player that has set alight the world stage in the past four decades: Jonah Lomu, David Campese, William Ryder, Christian Cullen, Bryan Habana, Joe Rokocoko, and chances are they’d have first caught the eye at rugby’s first-ever truly global tournament. It might have been invitational to begin with, but the best were invited.

Today, it remains the original and best carnival, marquee event of the World Rugby Sevens series, and its absence from the circuit due to covid has been keenly felt. It’s not just the 120,000 people that attend every year, everyone in unadulterated party mode, kitted out in the colours of their country or whatever fancy dress they choose, it’s also the setting and what Hong Kong offers.

An expat heritage has made it accessible in the best possible way – also adding some of the creature comforts you want from a good night (i.e. plenty of Guinness) – and its neon-lit skyline overlooking Victoria Harbour is a spectacle you never tireof, but it’s also rich in the culture you’d expect from a country on the southern doorstep of China.

The markets are places of wonder to get lost in, both literally – down the maze of alleys – and mentally as you’re captivated by the sights you’ll see, especially at the fish markets, where every kind of sea dweller you can think of can be found, together with many you never even knew existed – geoduck anyone?

Seafood is fresh, and the food is always flavoursome, with Hong Kong attracting the best chefs from across southern China, to serve up not only Michelin-starred and World’s 50 Best cuisine, but also authentic local dishes – the dim sum trolleys are piled high with baskets of char siu bao (barbecue pork) and siu mai (steamed prawn) or, for dessert, perhaps a lai wong bau (custard-filled bun), and discovering new street food is always an adventure. The nightlife never skips a beat either, with no fewer than nine Hong Kong bars being considered among the fifty best in Asia – including the Oaxaca-inspired Coa, the No.1.

Between meals and drinks, there’s the 135-year-old Peak Tram to catch for a journey to the best view in Hong Kong – Peak Tower, which rises 428m above the cityscape; there’s pristine beaches, and an eclectic selection of islands to discover; there are 34-metre-tall bronze Buddhas to meet; theme parks to entertain all ages; and of course another sporting icon of Hong Kong –  Happy Valley Racecourse, with races every week.

But, best of all – this is the Rugby Journal after all – there’s the rugby, a sevens event so good that it has also doubled as a Rugby World Cup, in 2005, and what a World Cup, when a returning Fijian hero graced the field having been written off by so many, only to lead his country to the greatest prize.

The Fijian legend Waisale Serevi is synonymous with Hong Kong Sevens, their partnership has changed the face of rugby, together they’ve put on the greatest show in rugby time and again. Serevi said of his beloved Hong Kong, “I lost the Hong Kong Sevens in 1989, then in 1990, I achieved my goal of making people happy, we won, it was a public holiday, because we’d won the biggest sevens tournament in the world.”

This year, the Fijians, two-time and reigning Olympic champions, will again be the team everyone wants to see, but today they’re joined by a field full of sides and individuals wanting to entertain, to be the next Serevi. And if you want to be the next Serevi, there’s only one place to make your mark – the Hong Kong Sevens, rugby’s greatest party.

The Hong Kong Sevens takes places 31st March to 2nd April 2023. 
For more information visit hksevens.com
For more information on Hong Kong, visit discoverhongkong.com