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Coronavirus: Hong Kong Sevens to be postponed


Fans revel in the atmosphere of the 2019 Hong Kong Sevens (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
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New Zealand Herald: The Hong Kong Sevens tournament is set to be postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak and there could be further implications for Super Rugby games.

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The South China Morning Post reported the prestigious Hong Kong Sevens tournament, which hosts 40,000 people each day and was scheduled for April 3-6, has been shelved for six months due to on-going health fears in the city.

The Hong Kong Sevens has run every year since 1976 and was due to host its 45th event, where the Black Ferns and All Blacks sevens were due to compete.

The South China Morning Post reported the event would likely be postponed until October.

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An official announcement from World Rugby is expected later today.

The news comes after Hong Kong Rugby Union chief executive Robbie McRobbie last month issued a statement saying the sevens event would proceed as planned.

“There are no plans to cancel the Hong Kong Sevens,” McRobbie said at the time.

“We are in regular contact with World Rugby and are keeping them updated with the situation on the ground here. There have been no conversations about changing dates or venue.”

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The coronavirus has also forced the cancellation of the Hong Kong marathon while the local Premier League football has been on hold since last month.

The coronavirus outbreak also leaves potential doubts surrounding the Sunwolves’ scheduled Super Rugby fixture against the Jaguares in Singapore on May 2.

Latest reports show China has 44,653 coronavirus cases and 1,113 confirmed deaths.

Hong Kong has 50 cases and one death; Singapore 50 cases.

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Phantom 1 hour ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

Fact: the gap between the North and the South has narrowed considerably - that I get. However, determining that only selecting only Home grown players or playing in the home country is is the optimal strategy is a bit of a toss up and highly reliant on the economies of the home union. I do understand that England and to a lesser degree Ireland selects home based only. The top 14 is a massive threat to their domestic product. France would probably not be affected (the money is at home). Fiji, Argentina, Samoa, Italy and you could even argue Scotland have only benefitted from this. Their players either go overseas to learn at higher levels (Fiji, Samoa, Argentina) or players coming into their leagues to strengthen the home product and their National teams (Scotland, Italy, Japan).

South Africa used to limit its selection to the home based players, but the reality of a weak currency vs what players could earn oversees meant that you lost access to your best players at some stage of their careers, with very few exceptions. Kolbe left SA as he was considered too small for International Rugby (yes coaches/selectors view), but ironically in France he forced selectors to notice his endeavors and select him. He is only reaching 50 caps now despite being north of 30 - granted rotation and the odd injury also played a role, but for the most part it is having debuted or becoming a regular so late.



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