A sceptic joins the scrum...
Even if the appeal of sitting amongst a crowd of angry, drunk men and shouting at some people who are too far away to hear you isn't immediately obvious, it's hard not to be swept up with the excitement and energy of the 35,000 strong crowd that lines Hong Kong Stadium on Rugby 7's weekend.The costumes were generally more surprising than the results on Saturday, with the big exception being our home team Hong Kongs' win against Wales. Hong Kong defeated Wales with a score of 19 - 21, and went on to secure the Sheild for the first time ever after beating Korea and Italy, much to the delight of the crowd - the boo's boomed across the stadium each time Italy scored, and the enormous cheers were surprising, suggesting a sense of patriotism that Hong Kong is often accused of lacking.
A definite star of the show was the talented Keith Robertson for Hong Kong, whose energy and speed thrilled the crowd down to the last minute when Russia made a last attempt to catch up, eventually falling two points short as the ball went out and the game ended.Kurt Baker of the All Blacks was thrilling to watch, leading the New Zealand team in scoring 4 tries in their semi-final win over Fiji, and 2 tries in their Cup finals loss to Samoa.
On a more personally disappointing note, Canada surged forward against Wales, who seemed to loose heart as Canada took three converted tries in the first four minutes. Wales finished as runner up for the Bowl, and had to be hurried up publicly over the loud-speaker ('Wales, we're waiting for you') after the game. We were waiting for you too - where the hell were you guys?! I felt like the lone Welsh-girl amongst a sea of Canadians, and I even heard a girl near to me say "Wales? I didn't know Wales was big enough to have a team", before clamping her hand over her mouth as I shot her a frosty glance.
So although the Rugby 7's are often associated with hordes of drunken, pink-wigged tourist vomiting 7 pitchers worth of pimms across our streets, there is thankfully much more to the weekend than this. The Rugby 7's is possibly the biggest sporting event on Hong Kong's calendar, and it draws a crowd from all over the world - the universal camaraderie, the mexican waves, and even the streakers (especially the guy who managed to climb the post, and then elude the security staff with impeccable comic timing) provide a not unwelcome interlude between the short, sharp and spectacular games of what Bill McLaren deems "the Olympic games of Rugby Union".
Kim Haslam is a journalist and converted sceptic who is already planning to attend the 2011 Rugby 7's wearing only a Welsh flag.
1 comment:
I must say you write very well.
I don't know you are talented in so many ways.
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