It seems that with the large family we have our children have played almost every sport. Someone in our family has participated in baseball, basketball, softball, soccer, swimming, football, field hockey, wrestling, lacrosse and in-line hockey (of which I actually coached one game). They might have even tried a few more, but the one that we never did experience was rugby. My knowledge of the game was non-existent until last weekend when we attended the Hong Kong Sevens.
The Hong Kong Sevens is three days of international rugby playing that attracts spectators and teams from around the world. It is the Super Bowl and World Series blended into one big weekend long party. The fans come ready to cheer and be seen before, during and long after the games. It’s Caucasians gone wild which actually can be humorous and at times embarrassing.
Rusty and I had tickets for Friday and were lucky enough to see 12 matches and the women's final. I was hoping that I would be able to understand a little of the game and was pleasantly surprised that it is very easy to grasp. The Sevens is unique in that there are only seven players (not fifteen) and each half is only seven minutes long. This makes for very fast paced and high scoring games.
The terminology was also easy to pick up. The field is called the pitch, to score is a try and the huddle is a scrum. Five points is awarded for a try and a kick through the goal posts is two points. I must admit that I had to suppress a laugh at some of the names of the positions such as scrum half and hooker, but hey American football has tight ends so who am I to say anything.
The most amazing thing about the tournament is the incredible physical intensity of the game. I don’t mean aggression, but pure strength and stamina. These men are solid masses of muscle. We sat behind one of the benches and I could see the ripples of muscles in their backs through their jerseys. Plus they play without absolutely any pads or protection, yet have fewer injuries then soccer. The Sevens players are athletes of the highest caliber.
This is obviously an ex-pat extravaganza and the Brits, Aussies, Kiwis and Scots came out in full force to cheer on their teams. We did all cheer loudly for the hometown favorites, but the Hong Kong team does not have the size to compete equally with a team from someplace like South Africa. We were lucky to see the US play Japan on Friday. Everyone was so happy that the Japanese team even made it to the tournament that the cheers for them unfortunately drowned out anything for the US.
I would be remiss if I did not mention a big part of the tournament is the spectators. The south side of the stadium is reserved only for those over the age of eighteen. People come dressed in costumes and consume mass quantities of beer. They actually sold Carlsberg and Guinness in pitchers! I saw fans dressed like Gumby, Peekachu, Spongebob, vikings, a banana, Mario and Luigi, the list goes on and on. If it sounds like Mardi Gras for rugby fans then you have the general idea. And although you would think people would be rude and obnoxious I personally experienced none of that. I’m not sure of the significance of dressing up, but it does make for some interesting videos on the jumbo-tron.
When all was said and done New Zealand won the tournament. “We were playing for Christchurch,” they said. Amidst all the crisis's and tragedies in the world today it’s great to be able to escape and enjoy some Sevens Heaven. Can’t wait for next year.
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