New Zealand Men and Women Win Final Sevens Tournament at Hong Kong Stadium

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(08/04/24)
 New Zealand claimed both the men’s and women’s
titles for the second year running at the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong
Sevens on Sunday.

The New Zealand men, having been dominant all
weekend, were pushed all the way by France before digging deep in
the second half to win 10-7 and claim their 13th Hong Kong Sevens
title.

The New Zealand women, however, were able to carry their consistently
impressive form through to the final siren with a 36-7 win over
the USA that was never really in doubt.

For World Rugby Chief Executive Alan Gilpin the
tournament remains “the jewel in the crown of sevens” – a fact
that was again reflected by ticket sales and the return,
en masse, of international fans. “We’ve seen an amazing weekend –
Hong Kong is definitely back, the international fans are really
back,” Gilpin said.

For the over 100,000 fans who packed Hong Kong
Stadium this past weekend, the event provided memories to last a lifetime.
Next year, the tournament is expected to take place in a brand new
and larger stadium at Kai Tak Sports Park.

Designed with a “Pearl of the Orient” theme, the
50,000-seat Main Stadium at Kai Tak Sports Park has a retractable
roof and showcases a meticulously crafted surface formed by about
27,000 aluminium panels as part of the multi-layered façade, each
shaped into triangular pieces that seem to change colour depending
on the time of day and have even been endowed with self-cleaning
capabilities.

The 28-hectare Sports Park is part of the
redevelopment on the site of the old Hong Kong International
Airport, Kai Tak. In addition to the main stadium, the Sports Park
will feature an indoor sports centre with the flexibility to host
community sports and events of up to 10,000 seats, and a public
sports ground with a capacity of 5,000 seats. Those venues will be
complemented with extensive public open spaces for events and
leisure together with retail and harbour front dining spaces.

As the largest sports infrastructure project in
Hong Kong, the major facilities within the precinct are expected
to be completed in phases by the end of 2024 for opening in 2025.

“It has been a fantastic weekend,” said Chris
Brooke, Chairman of Hong Kong China Rugby. “Obviously it is great
to have sold out the event, and excellent to welcome so many of
our international visitors back to Hong Kong. We fund all of our
programmes from the surplus we generate from the Sevens, so it’s
absolutely critical for us to have such a successful three days to
reinvest into the game in Hong Kong. We now need to build on all
of this for our anticipated move to Kai Tak Sports Park, and our
objective to create a bigger and better event that has more for
everyone.”

Rugby pictures:
Pictures from 2019 Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong
Kong Sevens,

Pictures from 2018 Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens,

Pictures from 2017 Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens,

Pictures from 2016 Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong
Kong Sevens,

Pictures of Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2015,

Pictures of the Asia Rugby Sevens Olympic Games Qualifier in Hong
Kong,

Pictures of Singha Thailand Sevens 2015,

Pictures from the 2013 British & Irish Lions Tour in Hong Kong,

Pictures of Hong Kong Sevens 2014,

Pictures of Hong Kong Sevens 2013,
Pictures
of Chartis Cup 2012 and
Pictures of
Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2012.

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