Hong Kong’s famous sevens tournament has been postponed from next April to November over continuing coronavirus uncertainty after it was scrapped altogether this year.
The Hong Kong Sevens, which is the highlight of the global sevens circuit and helped inspire the sport’s inclusion in the Olympics, will now take place on November 5-7.
HONG KONG SEVENS WAS FIRST PLAYED IN 1976
The vibrant tournament, an annual fixture since 1976 until this year, was last held in April 2019, meaning it will have been absent for more than two-and-a-half years when it finally returns.
Organisers said Hong Kong’s fourth wave of infections, and similar problems elsewhere around the world, prompted them to shift the event to November.
“Given increasing infection rates both at home and abroad, and ongoing travel restrictions and quarantines, it was felt that the environment remains too uncertain to support hosting the event next April,” the Hong Kong Rugby Union and World Rugby said in a statement.
Hong Kong is now scheduled to be the last leg of the 2020-2021 world series.
Details of the other tournaments are yet to be announced after the season-openers in the UAE and South Africa, followed by stops in Australia and New Zealand, were cancelled.
READ | SPRINGBOK PROP BLOW FOR SHARKS
