"Celebrating 30 Years of the Hong Kong Sevens"

Youthful Hong Kong squad aiming high in Dubai

[25 th November 2005] A young Hong Kong team will continue their preparations for the Asian Games, when they take on world-class competition in the Dubai Exiles Invitational Sevens on November 30 to December 2.

The youthful squad, with an average age of 21, will play in the renowned international tournament, which is held in conjunction with the Dubai leg of the IRB Sevens Series. The squad is continuing their programme, which has included the Sri Lanka Sevens and the Singapore Cricket Club Sevens, as they prepare for the Asian Games qualifying event to be held early in the New Year.

"The Dubai event will provide an excellent opportunity for our young squad to further develop in a tournament situation against some exceptional teams. Last year the event was won by a Fijian invitational team that included Wasali Serevi, so we will be pitting our skills against some world-class performers. We will stay on in Dubai for the IRB event, which will allow our players to see the elite teams in action, that will be invaluable to their rugby education." said HKRFU Head of Performance, Ivan Torpey.

"The team will have an opportunity to make a case for not only the Asian Games qualifier, but also next year's Cathay Pacific / Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens. We performed well in Sri Lanka and Singapore, and are building an exciting squad who continue to develop both as individuals and as a team. Whilst qualification for the Asian Games is the immediate goal, we are also looking to the future." added Torpey.

The full squad is: Kwok Ka Chun, Tsang Hing Hung, Lo Kwok Wai Michael; Lai Yiu Pang, Justin Gregory, Alexander Gibbs (Captain), Andrew Chambers, Fan Shun Kei, Yuen Kin Ho Andy, Ryan McBride, Jeff Wong, Mark Wright .

In other rugby news, the HKRFU will hold a Sevens Festival at the Hong Kong Stadium on December 10 th to showcase all levels of the rugby community in Hong Kong. The event will also double as the Ticket Sale for the Cathay Pacific / Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens 2006.

The public will have the exclusive opportunity on the day to buy tickets for the Sevens. The ticket price for the Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens 2006 will be HK$880 per adult and HK$300 per child up to the age of 12 years old. Sales will be limited to 4 tickets per person. Children's tickets will be limited, and will be sold on a first come, first served basis. Rugby action begins at 9:30am, and Sevens tickets will go on sale at 12 noon.

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Released by the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union
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