- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Hong Kong: It’s been 16 years since James O’Connor’s famous sideline conversion sealed a memorable and spicy victory for the Wallabies over the All Blacks in Hong Kong, but the Bledisloe Cup could finally be about to return to the iconic city.
After the city’s new state of the art Kai Tak Stadium won rave reviews after welcoming more than 100,000 people across the three-day Hong Kong Sevens, speculation of a Bledisloe Cup returning for the first time since 2010 was rife.
Capable of holding 50,000 people, the Kai Tak Stadium, which is built on the old Hong Kong international terminal by the water and has a retractable roof, would be a hit for the expat-heavy city where rugby has a strong presence.
The stadium will host Coldplay next week.
The first edition of the Hong Kong Sevens at Kai Tak Stadium won rave reviews. (Photo by Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
High ranking officials, including Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh, were in Hong Kong across the weekend and the subject of bringing back the Bledisloe Cup to the city was discussed.
“It’s just amazing for rugby,” former Wallabies flanker and World Rugby Chairman Brett Robinson told reporters at a World Rugby press conference in Hong Kong on Sunday.
“So it’s into the future, what other events could come here outside of the sevens programs?
“Some of the major unions are here, Phil Waugh’s here, you know, the Japanese are here. What other games could be brought here potentially into the future?
“It’s just such an incredible facility.
“In the past we have had Bledisloe Cups played up this way, and I think for all those member unions, there’s a real challenge about the quality of what they could do here if they wanted to.”
The city has hosted the Bledisloe Cup twice, in 2008 and 2010, with O’Connor’s sideline conversion the last ball kicked in the country by the trans-Tasman rivals.
Meanwhile, Australia’s men’s sevens team capped off a strong performance at the tournament by beating Fiji 22-21 to seal bronze in Hong Kong.
Tim Walsh’s women’s side will play New Zealand in the final.
Christy Doran travelled to the Hong Kong Sevens thanks to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Cathay Pacific and The Langham.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.