Rugby union in Hong Kong

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 its sevens tournaments.

Governing Body

The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union was founded in 1953.

Hong Kong Sevens

Because of the territory's small size, it was argued that rugby sevens would be more useful in promoting the game than 15-a-side.

The Hong Kong Sevens (Chinese: 香港國際七人欖球賽) is considered the premier tournament on the IRB Sevens World Series in rugby union. The tournament was set up in 1976, and attracted clubs from Asia and beyond, from Indonesia, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Japan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Fiji for the first tournament alone. It was held at the Hong Kong Football Club in Happy Valley. 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.

The Rugby World Cup Sevens have been held twice in Hong Kong - see 1997 Rugby World Cup Sevens and 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens.

National team

Hong Kong has two 15-a-side teams - men's and women's

The men's team is a third tier rugby playing nation. They first played in 1969 and have played 78 games to date. In general, their players consist of a mixture of both Hong Kong Chinese, and White players.

They have competed in the first Asian Five Nations recently.

ee also

* Rugby union in China
* Rugby union in Macau
* Rugby union in Taiwan

External links

* [http://www.irb.com/unions/union=11000032/index.html Hong Kong rugby news]