160 days to go: Tokyo is where 7s world comes to play

Postponing the annual Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens to October 16-18 is in the best interest of all stakeholders. And defending champions for the past five years, the Fiji Airways Fijian 7s team, must change tact and focus on retaining the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games in July.

We have four tournaments (Los Angeles, Vancouver, London, Paris) on the World Sevens Series and 160 days to fine-tune and put our acts together before the opening ceremony at the Tokyo Stadium on July 24. Scheduled for April 3-5 at So Kon Po, World Rugby and the Hong Kong Rugby Union must be commended for taking the bold step and delay the event, now in its 45th year.

Prioritising the interest of players and fans, the rescheduling to October is in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, which originated in China. Given the expanding travel measures being put in place amidst ongoing containment efforts, it was felt that the HKRU could no longer guarantee to host the event in April without disruption.

The tournament also draws a lot of materials from Chinese factories, many of which are closed due to quarantine.

The tournament was incepted in 1976 to provide extra boost to the HK economy. Now the HKRU derives more than 95 per cent of its annual revenue HK$230 million (FJ$65m) from the tournament. And the flagship tournament injects at least HK$380m (FJ$107m) to the local economy when it comes to overseas visitors alone, who make up more than half of the total number of attendees.

HKRU chief executive officer Robbie McRobbie said: “Without the Hong Kong Sevens, that would have been a real impact for us as a rugby union.

“We are confident the move to October will ensure a very unique and special and we look forward to once again welcoming the rugby world to Hong Kong.” A World Rugby statement said: “The health and safety of our players, fans and everyone working on the event is always our highest priority. This prudent decision has been taken in order to help protect the global rugby community and the wider public and was taken based on the World Health Organisation and relevant public authority travel and health guidelines.”

The Hong Kong 7s tournament is among the most popular event in Asia, with tickets sold out every year. But 2020 will be special for the rugby short code being an Olympic year.

Tokyo is where the 7s world comes to play and being the defending champion, we have the time and manpower on our side. The onus is on coach Gareth Baber and his men to deliver the result.