thericechronicles: Hong Kong Rugby 7's

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Hong Kong Rugby 7's

Hello My Dear Most Excellent Ones,

Last week I went to a famous art show, this week a premier sporting event. Hong Kong is awesome! The Hong Kong Sevens is, according to their propaganda, the premier rugby sevens event in the world. Twenty-four countries, mainly old British colonies and their former master, send their best and fastest players to do battle. The format of this tournament is unique. Teams only have seven players, normal rugby has 15, so just imagine a hockey game going 4 on 4 or 3 on 3, yeah only having 7 a side creates lots of action, intense pace, but each game is only 14 minutes. Seven minute halves, 2 min intermission, done. Once the game is over there is a three minute pause, to load up on beer or go to the loo (British term for bathroom) and the next game starts.

This pace goes on for three days, the first day (Friday) goes from 11 am to 9 pm, Sat and Sun starts earlier in the morning and shuts down earlier at night. This event is well attended and fans come from all over the commonwealth to cheer their heros on. While the rugby is top notch, I personally am not a rugby fan mainly cause I have never played, but I did appreciate the athleticism of the players. Big and fast and highly skilled!

One thing that goes hand in hand with rugby is beer. Apparently it is part of the rugby culture to consume huge quantities of beer and for some it is also important to dress up. I saw smurfs, minions, bishops, pirates, and lots of what I believe were thing 1's. And they were all adults! Basically rugby is not just a sport, but an excuse for a social time and an opportunity to consume too much beer. It's a party! Here are a few other impressions of my time at Hong Kong 7"s:

You know an event is big league when you see how many sponsor the event. The Hong Kong 7's also have been going for 40 years.

The media came fully equiped to record every movement.

Oceans of beer are consumed by the fans.

Bill has been a faithful follower of the Hong Kong 7's for 25 years straight. He loves to sing the Scottish national anthem and did so--loudly---getting plenty of support from the ethnic Scots.

Fiji was well represented by looking like Thing 1?

Germans like I have said over and over are well represented, especially when beer is offered.

I am fairly positive that these furs are not real.

Aye matey!

Hong Kong Stadium. Can fit about 50 000 people.

In the rowdy south end.

Ok the game. Lots of tackling and wrestling. No pads!

You move the ball by either running with it or passing it laterally to a teammate. You can't pass it ahead.

The object is to carry the ball into your opponent's endzone, just like football. You score 6 points for doing this and an extra point if you kick it between the uprights. Just like football.