Hong Kong Sevens Tickets Continued
The Hong Kong Sevens were established in 1976 after a discussion between the
chairman of the HKRFU, South African entrepreneur, A.D.C. "Tokkie" Smith and Ian Gow, a
Rothmans' Tobacco company executive. Gow wanted his firm to sponsor a rugby tournament
with top teams from throughout the world. Smith suggested that a Rugby sevens tournament
would be logistically more feasible and be a better spectacle than a 15-a-side tournament
and that the scope. After an initial proposal was refused by the Rugby Football Union in
England, the HKRFU changed focus and sent out invitations to Asian and Pacific sides.
In 1976, clubs from Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Japan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia
and Fiji participated in the first Hong Kong Sevens Tournament at the Hong Kong
Football Club in Happy Valley sponsored by Rothmans' Tobacco and Cathay Pacific. This
was an important step as this was one of the first rugby tournaments that attracted commercial
sponsorship. Of the countries represented in the inaugural sevens tournament, only Australia
and New Zealand did not send national sides, instead being represented by the Wallaroos
and the Cantabrians respectively. These two clubs met in the final where the Cantabrians won
24-8.
The series then grew into a competition with national representative sevens sides
competing, and with this growth, the tournament moved to the Hong Kong Government
Stadium in 1982. In 1994, the venue was deemed to small for the tournament and was rebuilt
into a 40,000 seat stadium now named the Hong Kong Stadium. Today, 24 national
representative sides compete in the tournament.
