Left to Right: Captains of Japan, Samoa, Wales, Scotland, Argentina, USA, England, South Africa, Kenya, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, France, Russia, Hong Kong line up against the iconic Singapore skyline at Merlion Park this afternoon (Photo Credit: Rugby Singapore / Singapore Maven)
SINGAPORE, 12 April 2017: Rugby fans can expect festivities around the 2018 HSBC Singapore Rugby 7s to stretch over two weekends next year. This was the exciting news shared by Rugby Singapore at the kick-off press conference for the 2017 edition of the tournament held on Tuesday.
“We want to make it bigger, better and more enjoyable and aim to create an iconic event that’s second to none,” explained Low Teo Ping, Chairman of Rugby Singapore and President of Singapore Rugby Union. “Next year, the Singapore 7s will not be held the weekend after Hong Kong 7s due to the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, so there will be a great opportunity to extend the festivities and activities over two weekends. Expect a festival of rugby as never seen before.”
The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series made a triumphant return to Singapore last year and this year’s edition will see a colourful array of festivities before the main tournament this weekend.
Starting on Thursday evening, there will be the Midnight 7s for local and overseas participating teams over at the Yio Chu Kang Stadium in the north of Singapore. The tournament takes place late in the evening and goes on through to the early hours of Friday with teams expected to play in fluorescent attire. On Friday, the region’s top national teams will participate in the Southeast Asian 7s over at the Yio Chu Kang, with the finals to be played on Saturday at the National Stadium.
Over at the Marina Bay Floating Platform on Saturday morning, there will be a kids touch rugby tournament. The main event, the HSBC Singapore Rugby 7s starts at 11am on Saturday as the world’s best 16 teams take centre-stage and supporters can expect a venue with dedicated sections for different teams, colour matched to the teams’ that they support. On Sunday, the Schools 7s Under 14 finals will be played, before the HSBC Singapore 7s winners will be crowned.
“This is our commitment to World Rugby to not just host a World Series event, but to grow the sport,” added Low. “Our theme this year ‘Show Your Colours’ reflects a tribal approach to promoting the event. Fans of New Zealand coming in black will have a dedicated section in black, Australia will have yellow, England will be white and so on.”
In addition to colourful fan festivities, local youth and rugby-playing children will be attending coaching clinics with top teams and legends across the island over the next few days.
Over the next few days, HSBC will be conducting youth coaching clinics with rugby legends like England great Jason Robinson, while this morning, children from Sport Singapore’s SportCares program had a chance to train with Olympic champions Fiji and rugby greats Karl Te Nana and Willy Lose.
“HSBC is pleased that our sponsorship in rugby is helping to introduce new fans to the sport globally and in Singapore, inspiring the new generation of rugby stars and improving standards at all levels of the game,” said Eugene Kwek, HSBC Singapore’s Head of Marketing, Retail Banking and Wealth Management. “Legendary rugby players started from playing in clubs and at the community level. We are thrilled to be able to be part of rugby’s rise from the ground up and help build the sport through securing the future of the next generation of rugby talents.”
“It’s really good to know that the tournament can make an impact to growing the sport and create a positive legacy of rugby in this region,” added Douglas Langley, World Rugby’s Competitions Operations Manager - Sevens. “This vibrant and cosmopolitan city is very much now recognized as another iconic stop on the series. Well done to the Singapore 7s and Singapore Rugby Union for taking this great opportunity to grow rugby in this part of the world.”
Rugby fans can rock ruck and rumble at Singapore’s National Stadium this weekend and enjoy a free music festival at the Official After Party venue, Clarke Quay. Two-day Category 1 tickets are priced at SGD150 for adults, SGD65 for youths aged 12-18 years and SGD65 for children below 12. Family packages start from SGD140 (for one adult, one child), SGD180 (for one adult, two children) and SGD260 (for two adults, two youths or children). Visit www.singapore7s.sg to purchase tickets today.
