Top six moments from the Hong Kong Sevens at Hong Kong Stadium
There are several reasons why the Hong Kong leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series 2023-24 on 5-7 April could be one of the city's most special ever.
For starters, it is the final year that the iconic Hong Kong Stadium will host the event.
Surrounded by jungle and skyscrapers and boasting the famous South Stand atmosphere - where David “The Hoff” Hasslehoff serenaded fans with the theme from Baywatch in 2016 - the 40,000-seat venue has been a mainstay of the series for the past 30 years.
From next season, the event will move into its new home at the recently-completed Kai Tak Sports Park.
The 2024 edition will also serve as the ultimate tune up for the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The hunt for top places in both the men’s and women’s tournaments is finely poised and a victory in Hong Kong would demonstrate that a team possesses the composure to win Olympic gold.
With the event approaching a sell-out and reggae legends The Wailers set to kick off festivities on Friday, it looks like this is going to be one memorable farewell.
To celebrate the occasion, we took a look back at some iconic moments from the Hong Kong Sevens over the years.
1 - Jonah Lomu helps New Zealand win three titles
Before he became a global rugby superstar in 15s, Jonah Lomu was a legend on the sevens circuit. Aged 18, he was a key part of the New Zealand team that dominated the early days at the Hong Kong Stadium, winning the first three titles from 1994 to 1996. In fact, the All Blacks Sevens team didn’t lose one match in Hong Kong during that period.
Jonah Lomu of New Zealand is tackled by Fiji's Jope Tuikabe and Ratu Emori Bolobolo during the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, which New Zealand went on to win.
2 - Waisale Serevi wonder try
Men’s reigning double Olympic champions Fiji have made the Hong Kong Sevens their spiritual home, having won 12 titles and finished runners-up on nine occasions to date, since the Hong Kong Stadium became the tournament’s host in 1994.
Their magical playmaker, Waisale Serevi, was the catalyst for one of the greatest sevens tries ever seen. With Fiji losing to New Zealand in the dying moments of the 2007 semi-final, Serevi took the ball in his own 22, beat four defenders, and got back in the line to finish the move with a famous celebration and take his nation into the final.
3 - Josh Lewsey-inspired England seal first title
Southern hemisphere nations Fiji, New Zealand and Samoa dominated the Hong Kong Sevens until 2022, when England won their first title.
That team was littered with stars including Josh Lewsey, who would become a 15s World Cup winner in 2003. After lifting the Hong Kong Sevens trophy for the first time, England went on to win three of the next four series events in Hong Kong, including a thrilling come-from-behind victory against the All Blacks Sevens in 2003.
Josh Lewsey played for England's rugby sevens team until 2022.
4 - An epic Pacific island showdown
Rugby is the national sport of both Samoa and Fiji, who served up a final for the ages in 2007.
Samoa raced into a 27-0 lead before the Fijians staged a heroic comeback in the second half to get close, but ultimately fall short. The final score was 27-22 and the moment meant so much to Samoa that it was immortalised on a bank note (see below).
This was the first of two Hong Kong titles for the Samoan men's team, who beat New Zealand 24-21 in another thriller in 2010.
5 - New Zealand seal inaugural women's titles
The first women's Hong Kong Sevens took place in 1997, with the New Zealand beating the United States 43-0 in the final.
Hong Kong made its debut as a women's tournament host on the official World Rugby Sevens Series in 2023, and it was the Black Ferns Sevens team that took the trophy again.
6 - A comeback for the ages
The New Zealand's men's team of 2000 featured some of the game's greatest names, including Eric Rush and Mils Muliaina. Despite this, the men in black conceded in the first minute of the final against Fiji that year.
Against such good opposition, that is usually a sign of things to come, but the Kiwis showed their class to recover and score 31 unanswered points to take the final.
New Zealand Sevens player Mils Muliana in action against Argentina during the New Zealand International Sevens played in Wellington.