Over the weekend of September 12^th and 13^th, rugby fans in Shanghai were treated to a high energy rugby bonanza.  The inaugural IRB Asian Rugby Sevens Series - Shanghai Sevens tournament was held out at the Shanghai Rugby Football Club over the weekend, drawing nearly 2,000 people over the two days.  With 9 international teams, 16 club teams 2 women's teams and 2 veterans’ teams taking part in the games, the tournament was the largest rugby event ever held in Shanghai.

On the international side, South Korea emerged victors from the fierce competition.  Going up against Japan in the championship game, the Koreans came out strong, quickly grabbing a 21-0 lead.  While Japan managed to get their feet under them by half time, they were unable to close the gap and the game ended up 42-19.  Korean player Kim Won-Yong also took home the tournament MVP award as his dynamic play over the weekend helped South Korea secure their position as champions. 

In the third place game, Hong Kong dominated Chinese Taipei 40-17, while host China took the plate for 5^th place beating taking down Thailand 59-5.  In the women's matches, the defending Asian Champion, China, swept the series against the over matched Guam four games to zero.

In the club tournament China Agricultural University beat the surprising Shanghai University of Sport to claim the title. In the hotly contested social award, Xiamen managed to eek out a victory over strong competitor Chengdu.

The tournament activities were sanctioned by the International Rugby Board, the Asian Rugby Football Union, the Chinese Rugby Football Association and both the China and Shanghai Sports Bureaus.  National teams from the leading rugby regions in Asia participated, including national and regional teams from China, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, India and Sri Lanka.

Rugby sevens is very popular across the globe and is expected to be welcomed back into the Olympic sport family in October.  Within Asia, the Hong Kong and Dubai Sevens are part of the global IRB World Rugby Sevens Series.  However, in an effort to help more Asian nations to develop stronger sevens programs, the IRB, together with ARFU have developed the IRB Asian Rugby Sevens Series.  The Shanghai Sevens were the first stop on the 2009 schedule.

Along with the action on the field, the weekend was packed full of entertainment off the field. Families appreciated the professionally supervised kid’s play area while the adults enjoyed themselves in the GUINNESS^® beer garden and watched live music on-stage. The Big Bamboo, Shanghai's leading sports bar provided great burgers and margaritas while the crowd stayed well after the end of the rugby action, enjoying live music on site.

Text and images courtesy: S2M Group