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The Hong Kong Sevens is considered the premier tournament on the World Rugby Sevens Series competition. The Hong Kong Sevens is currently the seventh tournament on the World Series calendar, and is held annually in Hong Kong on a weekend in late March or early April. The tournament spans three days, beginning on a Friday and concluding on Sunday. The tournament is organised each year by the Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU). This year's Hong Kong Rugby Sevens was originally due to be held on Friday 3, Saturday 4, Sunday 5 April 2020, but has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, possibly until October 2020.
Rugby sevens, and originally known as seven-a-side rugby, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40 minute halves. Rugby sevens is administered by World Rugby, the body responsible for rugby union worldwide. The game is popular at all levels, with amateur and club tournaments generally held in the summer months. Sevens is one of the most well distributed forms of rugby, and is popular in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and especially in the South Pacific.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is one of the six continental confederations within FIFA and is the governing body of association football in Asia and Australia. It has 47 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent, but excludes the transcontinental countries with territory in both Europe and Asia – Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkey – which are instead members of UEFA. Three other states located geographically along the western fringe of Asia – Cyprus, Armenia and Israel – are also UEFA members. On the other hand, Australia, formerly in the OFC, joined the Asian Football Confederation in 2006. Guam, a territory of the United States, and the Northern Mariana Islands, one of the two Commonwealths of the United States are also AFC members that are geographically in Oceania. Hong Kong and Macau, although not independent countries, are also members of the AFC.
The Hong Kong national football team represents Hong Kong in international football and is controlled by the Hong Kong Football Association, the governing body for football in Hong Kong.
Sports in Hong Kong are a significant part of its culture. Due to British influence going as far back as the late 19th century, Hong Kong had an earlier introduction to Western athletics compared to other Asia regions. Horse racing has most spectators, while football, basketball, swimming, badminton, table tennis, cycling and running have the most participants. Golf is an increasingly popular sport, despite the relatively few number of courses in the city. In 2009, Hong Kong successfully organised the V East Asian Games and it was the biggest sporting event ever held in the territory. Other major international sporting events including the Equestrian at the 2008 Summer Olympics, the Hong Kong Open Golf Championship, the Hong Kong Sevens, Hong Kong Marathon, AFC Asian Cup, EAFF East Asian Cup, Hong Kong Badminton Open, Hong Kong Tennis Classic, Premier League Asia Trophy, and Lunar New Year Cup. Hong Kong athletes have improved in worldwide rankings. As of 2010, there are 32 Hong Kong athletes from seven sports ranking in world's Top 20, 29 athletes in six sports in Asia top 10 ranking. Moreover, Hong Kong is equally impressive performance of athletes with disabilities in 2009, having won four world championships and two Asian Champions.
The Hong Kong national rugby union team, nicknamed the Dragons, is one of the better rugby sides in Asia outside Japan, and has consistently made the repechages of the Rugby World Cup qualifying. Rugby union in Hong Kong is administered by the Hong Kong Rugby Union since 1952, and competes annually in the Asia Rugby Championship.
Macau residents participate in a wide variety of sports for recreation and competition. Football, basketball, volleyball, Dragon Boat, jogging, swimming, table tennis, and badminton are among the most popular in the community. Local leagues and competitions are organized regularly every year, but owing to Macau's small population professional leagues are financially unfeasible and so most participants are merely local sport enthusiasts.
Hong Kong Football Club or Natixis HKFC is a private members sports and social club in Hong Kong. It is situated in Happy Valley, with the sports pitches being inside the Happy Valley Racecourse. The 2,750-capacity Hong Kong Football Club Stadium is the Hong Kong Rugby Union home pitch.
Rugby union in Asia is a growing sport, and is governed by the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU). As of December 2009 there are 28 ARFU member unions, of whom 15 are full members of World Rugby, and six further associate members of World Rugby in Asia. The flagship tournament for promoting the sport in Asia is the Asian Five Nations, which launched in 2008, and which most recently in 2011 saw the national teams of Hong Kong, Japan, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka and the UAE, compete in the main tournament.
The Asia Rugby Championship for women's national fifteen-a-side teams is a rugby union tournament that has been contested since 2006. Organised by Asia Rugby, there are currently two competition divisions. The championship is also the continental qualifying tournament for Asian women's teams in the lead up to the Rugby World Cup.
Rugby union in China is a growing sport; however, it is still not overly popular. China became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1997 and as of 1 July 2019, its women's XV side was ranked 24th and its men's XV side 80th in the world. Neither the women's team nor the men's team has yet qualified for a Women's Rugby World Cup or a men's Rugby World Cup. However, China has hopes of one day hosting the men's event, and World Rugby has indicated it supports taking the event there.
The Sri Lanka Sevens is an annual international rugby sevens tournament held in Sri Lanka. Originally developed as the Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7s, the event was founded in 1999 and has featured as a part of the Asian Sevens Series in past seasons.
Rugby union in Hong Kong is long established, partly as a result of its being a British colony. In contrast to the People's Republic of China, it has had a continuous existence dating back over a hundred years, and is most notable for the Hong Kong Sevens tournament, the most well known of the rugby sevens tournaments. The top domestic club competition is the HKRFU Premiership.
Rugby union in Sri Lanka is mainly played at a semi-professional and recreational level. It is a popular team sport with a history dating back to 1879. In 2012, according to International Rugby Board figures, there were over 103,000 registered rugby union players in Sri Lanka, making it the second largest rugby-playing nation in Asia, behind Japan.
Rugby union is not a major sport in Singapore. Singapore is currently ranked 58th in the world and 6th in Asia. As of February 2015, there over 12,000 registered players, with more than 2,000 women playing the sport. There are also 15 formally organised clubs with 4 registered Women's sides.
Rugby union in Thailand is a significant sport. They are currently ranked 60th, with 16,121 registered players.
Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Hong Kong, followed by rugby union. The Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) is the governing body for football in Hong Kong.
The Philippines national rugby sevens team is a minor national sevens side. The 2012 Hong Kong Sevens was their first appearance in an IRB Sevens World Series. They were 1 of 4 Asian teams that qualified through regional tournaments to be included in the 2012 Hong Kong Sevens, it is also a qualifying tournament for inclusion in the 2012–13 IRB Sevens World Series. After the Philippines won third place against South Korea in the 2012 Singapore Sevens Series, they gained qualification to the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow. The Philippines finished third at the 2018 Asia Rugby Sevens Series, and qualified to the 2019 Hong Kong Sevens World Series qualifier. At the tournament, the team defeated Zimbabwe and advanced to quarter-finals, where they lost to Asian rival Hong Kong.
Valley RFC is a sports club based in Hong Kong with a rugby section as well as Netball and Hockey sections. It also has a junior rugby academy called Valley Fort. The club is historically based in Happy Valley, Hong Kong, inside the Happy Valley Racecourse, hence the inspiration for its logo, the Knight chess piece.
Global Rapid Rugby is an international rugby union competition that launched a showcase series for six professional teams in 2019, played in locations across the Asia-Pacific region. Rapid Rugby matches are slightly shorter than the traditional 80 minutes and have other variations from standard rugby laws that are intended to increase the speed of the game.
