The Hong Kong Sevens is a rugby sevens tournament held annually in Hong Kong on a weekend in late March or early April. 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 (following the Canada Sevens. 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. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 respectively. The latest Hong Kong Rugby Sevens was held on Friday 4, Saturday 5, Sunday 6 November 2022.
World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rugby competitions, such as the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the World Under 20 Championship, and the Pacific Nations Cup.
Waisale Tikoisolomoni Serevi is a Fijian former rugby union football player and coach, and is a member of the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Serevi is renowned for his achievements in rugby sevens, while also enjoying a long career in fifteen-a-side rugby at both club and national team levels. Nicknamed "The Wizard" by commentators, he is widely considered to be the greatest rugby sevens player in the history of the game. A biography of Serevi titled Waisale Serevi: King of Sevens by Nick Darvenzi was published in 2018.
Ben Gollings is an English former rugby union player who currently works as a rugby coach for Fiji sevens team. Gollings is best known for his time with the England national rugby sevens team. He is the career leader in points scored on the World Rugby Sevens Series with 2,652 points.
The Fiji National Rugby Sevens Team has competed in the World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Olympics. Fiji won the gold medal in the inaugural rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics in 2016 in Brazil, the country's first Olympic medal in any event, and repeated as Olympic champions in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, defeating New Zealand. Thus Fiji is the sole nation to have won Olympic gold in the sport. They are the only country in the world to have won the Sevens Treble, the three major achievements in Sevens. They have won multiple World Rugby Sevens Series and Rugby World Cup Sevens.
Rugby union in Samoa is the country's most popular sport. The national teams in both the standard 15-man game and rugby sevens are consistently competitive against teams from vastly more populous nations.
Rugby union in Fiji is a popular team sport and is considered to be the national sport of the country. The sport was introduced to Fiji in the 1880s. Fiji is defined as a tier two rugby nation by World Rugby. The national team has competed at the Rugby World Cup and made it as far as the quarter finals. Their sevens team is also noted for their success, and have won the Rugby World Cup Sevens twice and the World Rugby Sevens Series three times.
Sireli Masibalavu Naqelevuki plays as a prop in rugby sevens but in traditional 15s he is a wing or centre. He made his rugby sevens debut in 2002 in Dubai Sevens. He is 1.93m tall (6'4") and weighs 118 kg. Contracted to the FRU, he played in seven of the eight IRB 7s tournaments when Fiji won the 2005–06 Series. His father, test rep Samu Naqelevuki, was a hard-hitting utility back who died in November 2002 only a few days after Sireli had been selected for the Fiji 7s team.
Viliame Satala is a Fijian rugby union footballer. He plays as a centre or wing. His nickname is "The Stretcher" for his ability to flatten opposition players.
Ro Alifereti Raivalita Doviverata is a Fijian rugby union footballer. He plays as a Flanker or a No. 8. His nickname is Dovi.
Tomasi Cama is a New Zealand former rugby union player. He played for Manawatu in the Air New Zealand Cup, and the New Zealand Sevens team. Cama won the 2012 World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year Award.
Lote Raikabula is a New Zealand rugby player who has played both rugby union and rugby sevens. He currently plays for the All Blacks Sevens team in the IRB Sevens World Series & is the Rugby coach for Trinity College, Kandy. He has played more than 60 tournaments since his debut in 2006, playing in 20 tournament-winning teams. he has five IRB Sevens World Series medals, a Rugby World Cup Sevens title and two Commonwealth Games gold medals.
The Sri Lanka Sevens is an annual international rugby sevens tournament held in Sri Lanka. Sponsored by telecommunications provider Dialog, the event has been part of the Asian Sevens Series since 2015. It was founded in 1999 as the Singer Sri Lankan Airlines Rugby 7s.
Napolioni Vonowale Nalaga is a Fijian rugby union footballer. He plays as a wing, flanker and Centre for London Irish. He is nicknamed Napoleon or Naps or Napo. His father, Kavekini Nalaga also represented Fiji in the 80's and just like his son, he played on the wing.
Mustafa Güngör is a German international rugby union player, playing for the TV Pforzheim in the Rugby-Bundesliga and the German national rugby union team. He is a former captain of the German Sevens and German XV team. He made his debut for Germany in a game against Sweden in 2003.
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.
Vereniki Goneva is a Fijian rugby union footballer who plays for Mont-de-Marsan in France's Pro D2, the second division. He plays as a centre or wing.
Taniela Rawaqa is a Fijan rugby union player. He plays fullback, presently with the Western Crusaders in the Colonial Cup and with the Fiji Warriors in the Pacific Rugby Cup and internationally with Fiji. He is the younger brother of Fijian International Ifereimi Rawaqa
Kandy Sports Club is a Division 'A' rugby union team, based in Kandy, Sri Lanka, competing in the Dialog Rugby League. The club has been the most successful Sri Lankan club in the Sri Lanka Rugby Championship, winning 18 league titles in the last twenty years, which is the most wins by any club since the expanded competition commenced in 1950. The club has also won twenty Clifford Cups and in the period between 1995 and 2012 the club did not lose a Clifford Cup title, although in 1998 there was no tournament and in 2006 the club withdrew from the tournament. Kandy SC had won the league title for a record nine consecutive years between 2000 and 2009.
Joeli Lutumailagi Kata is a Fiji rugby union player. He plays for the Fiji sevens team. He currently plays for French club Vannes.
