Hong Kong Sevens immeasurable, says Olympic-winning coach Ben Ryan – ‘it is the soul of world sevens’
- Former Fiji coach says you cannot put a score on Hong Kong, despite the event being rated only fifth on the World Rugby unofficial ranking
The Englishman said he understood why the Vancouver Sevens – which was held from March 9-10 – was given top ranking by World Rugby, with the family-oriented Singapore event rated second best among the 10 venues for the men’s HSBC World Sevens Series.
However, Ryan described Hong Kong as the “soul” of world sevens and it is the tournament every player dreams of taking part in at least once in their careers.
“When you talk about Hong Kong, it kind of doesn’t have a score,” he told the South China Morning Post. “It is immeasurable. And therefore the ranking is not important. [Hong Kong] is the soul of sevens and the tournament everyone looks forward to.
“If you ask any single player in the World Series, name one tournament … you’re only going to get selected for one tournament all year, which one? Every single one of them will, I’m sure, all say Hong Kong.”
In February, Singapore media unveiled an in-house report by World Rugby, detailing the governing body’s best-rated tournaments on the circuit based on nine categories, which included facilities and player services.
Vancouver, one of the most popular tournaments on the circuit, was narrowly ahead of the Singapore Sevens, with the Hong Kong Sevens – disadvantaged by limited facilities at its So Kon Po home – rated fifth. World Rugby said it was not an official ranking and the data was meant only for in-house use.
Ryan said Vancouver, graced by Aquaman lead actor Jason Momoa this year – had the advantage of being held one week after the Las Vegas Sevens, whose Sam Boyd Stadium is narrow and will no longer be the venue for the USA leg of the series.
