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Hong Kong Sevens Aiming to Boost Region in Wake of Disasters
Rugby | March 24, 2011

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Hong Kong. The pall of recent disasters in the Asia-Pacific region will hang over sevens rugby’s biggest annual tournament this week, but Hong Kong organizers hope it will “lift spirits” in affected countries.

Japan, New Zealand and China have endured killer earthquakes in the past two months and Australia has been coping with deadly floods. All four nations have teams entered in the three-day Hong Kong Sevens, the jewel in the sevens world series starting on Friday.

Tournament chairman Trevor Gregory said respects would be paid with a minute’s silence before Sunday’s final.

“We have countless fans who are coming here and have also been affected by these tragedies,” Gregory said. “We will pay our respects to those who lost their lives when the stadium is full before the final and the television stations are all on. We hope that the tournament will lift the spirits of those who have been through these tragedies and we want to show them that the rugby community is right behind them.”

More than 9,300 people are estimated to have perished and more than 13,700 are still unaccounted for after the Japanese quake and tsunami of March 11, Yunnan province in southwest China has seen 26 deaths recorded after a quake on March 10, while the New Zealand city of Christchurch was struck on Feb. 22 with an estimated 182 lives lost. Ongoing floods in Queensland in Australia have cost 35 lives since December.

The Japan Rugby Football Union was forced by the quake and tsunami to cancel the inaugural Tokyo Sevens, scheduled for next month, and the Japan squad was the last to arrive in Hong Kong this week. It jetted in on Tuesday minus three players whose employers would not release them because of the disasters.

“We could only bring 10 players but they are keen to show what they can do for the people in Japan,” Japan manager Kensuke Iwabuchi said. “Rugby is a game where you have to go forward to score tries, and that is why we are here, to go forward and Japan also needs to go forward.”

New Zealand, nine-time winners of Hong Kong, are level with England atop series standings.

“If we can win Hong Kong, it will certainly be for those people in Christchurch,” New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens said.

Samoa will defend the title after beating New Zealand in last year’s final. Samoa was tied for third in the standings with Fiji, the record 12-time champion.

Mexico will this year become the 49th team to appear at the Hong Kong Sevens, which was first played in 1976.

Associated Press