By mid-afternoon Saturday the full house sign was raised in the South Stand and the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2025 was well and truly in full swing, as the costumed thousands soaked up the atmosphere.
The 38,820-strong Saturday crowd – 5,000 more than 2024, were brought to their feet by the performances of Argentina men, still unbeaten as they chase an incredible third HSBC SVNS Series in a row, and by reigning champions New Zealand women, also unbeaten so far and keen to hold on to their crown.
“For me this is the icon of sevens,” said Argentina coach Santiago Gómez Cora, who saw his Los Puma beat Fiji (35-7) and Ireland (22-14) on Saturday. “When you think of the sevens, you think of Hong Kong and to win here has long been one of my dreams.”
For their troubles, Argentina now face Australia in Sunday's semi-finals. France men meanwhile shocked reigning title-holders New Zealand late, 21-14, and will meet 19-time champions Fiji who snuck home in a thriller in the quarter-finals, beating Spain 31-29 in extra-time.
A performance from Italian singing sensation Gala on an 18-metre-wide stage overlooking the re-imagined South Stand in the afternoon, and the legendary DJ Pete Tong up there providing a soundtrack to the action after night fell, proved the perfect backdrop to the excitement out on the pitch.
In the women’s competition, both title-holders New Zealand and their closest rivals Australia remain unbeaten, and it almost seems they are being drawn together by destiny.
Australia’s Maddison Levi has been a standout, and on Saturday she looked around the Kai Tak Stadium and she reflected on how far the tournament, and the sport, had come.
“I guess the other stadium had so much history and just for them to go bigger and better and create new memories at this stadium, it's a five-star stadium and it's unreal,” she said. “We're continuing to pave the way and grow women's sport in general through these [Hong Kong] Sevens.”
The local teams also rose to the occasion, with both Hong Kong, China teams staying undefeated and setting themselves up for finals in the Melrose Claymores tournament on Sunday.
There was a try on Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens debut for local lad Rory Stewart-Cox – and a memory to cherish for a lifetime.
“It's so special for me,” he said. “Growing up in Hong Kong, coming here to this tournament so many times, watching the players, watching the Hong Kong team. To be able to be on the pitch, it's pretty surreal, and to score was really like a dream coming true.”
The tradition on this day is to dress up – as an Egyptian Pharaoh, maybe a shark, or maybe even as a carrot, as one group chose to do. For Chris Briggs, in town from Perth, Western Australia, the choice was a Mexican lucha libre wrestler, a move he thought would make him stand out from the crowd – until he saw a group of five who had chosen to dress exactly the same way.
“I guess I’ll now have to make friends with them all,” he said. “But I was told that’s what this event is all about – making friends.”
The Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens is proud of being an “M” Mark event that helps enhance the image of Hong Kong as Asia’s sports event capital. The “M” Mark awarded by the Major Sports Events Committee, symbolises intense, spectacular and signature events in the territory’s sports calendar.