A Legacy of Rugby and Rivalry
From little things, big things grow. This saying has never been more fitting than for the Hong Kong Sevens, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The event, held at the newly built Kai Tak Stadium, is a testament to how far rugby sevens has come since its humble beginnings.
The party will be as wild and wonderful as ever, with every match of the 2025-26 World Sevens Series streaming live and on demand on Stan Sport, the home of rugby.
Now an iconic fixture on the sport’s calendar, the Hong Kong Sevens has become a bucket list trip for any rugby lover. But it all started as a marketing gimmick for cigarette company Rothmans in 1976. At that time, sevens rugby wasn’t a thing, but with no entry fee, a curious crowd of 3,000 turned up for the single-day event at the Hong Kong Football Club in Happy Valley.
Bob Lloyd, who captained Hong Kong’s team back then, recalls the event’s early days. “We had no idea that the tournament would become what it is today — not a bit of it,” said the 83-year-old, who recently took a ceremonial kick-off to celebrate the anniversary.
He also reflected on the growth of the game: “The men and the women today — they are phenomenal. The Hong Kong union were on to a good thing. Look at where the game is today with the Olympics and the World Series. Hong Kong started it.”
A History of Controversy and Camaraderie
Australia’s men’s team was once known as the Wallaroos — a name now used for the country’s national women’s XVs side. Peter Reed, who has attended every edition of the Hong Kong Sevens since the beginning, remembers the first event well.
“I’d only arrived in January of 1976 so it was a great way to start,” Reed recalled. “It was well attended and it went really well. I remember there was a huge punch-up between the Aussies and the Fijians and it just took off from there.”
Aha. So begins the tale of Australia’s unpopularity at the tournament. Legendary player Mark Ella was stunned to be booed when he first graced the field in Hong Kong.
But he and teammate David Campese quickly learned to use it as motivation. “It was a bit bewildering at first,” Ella recalled. “I would think to myself, ‘what did we do to deserve this?’ It actually did spur us on a bit and after a while we took it a bit more light-heartedly. But it didn’t matter how much the crowd booed us, it was clear that the crowd did appreciate good football, and that made it a little bit better.”
So what did Ella and company do to deserve this? New Zealander Jamie Scott explained it best in a 1994 article in the South China Morning Post.
“The origin of this eminently laudable practice stems from the sending off of Fijian Jo Rauto in the semi-finals of the 1976 Rothmans Sevens,” the cheeky Kiwi wrote.
“Rauto and the feisty Wallaroo hooker were having a difference of view of the proceedings only to be interrupted by Hong Kong-based referee Harry Brickwood. Rauto threw a haymaker which, instead of finding the Australian, found Brickwood. Fiji, a crowd favourite even in those days, even managed to score despite being reduced to six men. But six good men can’t beat seven good men and this was when the booing started as the Wallaroos went through to face the Cantabrians in the final…”
“Over the years, booing Australia became more fashionable and many a commentator at the ground has tried to persuade the crowd that it was not the thing to do. In one incident, Australia had just scored and the crowd booed. ‘Don’t boo’ said the announcer. Australia missed the conversion and the crowd cheered.”
The booing has relaxed in recent years, but the rivalry remains fierce.
Preparing for the 2026 Season
Australia’s crack women’s team will kick off their 2026 campaign with pool games against South Africa (2.25pm AEST) and Great Britain (5:35pm AEST) on Friday. Coaches Tim Walsh has made just one change from New York with Bienne Terita coming in.
“We head off to round one of the world championships in iconic Hong Kong — the traditional home of rugby sevens,” Walsh said.
“The first six legs have provided the squad with a lot of confidence and belief of performing well. The (New Zealand) Black Ferns obviously go in as favourites but we will only be looking towards our pool games with South Africa emerging from the SVNS 2 Championship, the ever-improving Great Britain and then Paris silver medallists Canada.”
For the men’s team, James McGregor returns for Liam Barry’s side with Ethan McFarland making way. “It’s a competition restart after six regular rounds and with four additional teams that now adds another layer of pressure to play well and qualify for the World Series in 2027,” Barry said.
Australia’s men will meet Kenya, USA and New Zealand in the pool stages.
Sam Worthington travelled to the 2026 Hong Kong Sevens thanks to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Cathay Pacific and The Mira.
