Ignoring health warnings heeded by other teams and even rebel rockers the Rolling Stones, Taiwan yesterday confirmed it would take part in the annual Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament.
The territory has been plagued by an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which has infected more than 500 people and killed 17, according to World Health Organization figures.
Three teams have already pulled out of the Sevens, which starts today, citing fears of contracting the disease and concerns over the US war in Iraq.
The Netherlands has replaced Argentina for the 24-team event, while earlier in the week France and Italy withdrew and were replaced by teams from Namibia and Tonga.
A spokeswoman at the Chinese Taipei Rugby Football Union said the team had considered pulling out of the Sevens but decided to go ahead after discussions between officials.
"They are there now and ready to play. We believe they will not face a significantly more serious risk of contracting [the disease] compared with staying in Taiwan," she said.
Organizers of the Sevens, an annual event since 1976, said there had been talks with health and tourism officials before agreeing to go ahead with the event despite the problems.
"We believe, based on the information that we've been given at the present time, the risk is minimal in an open air environment," Rugby Football Union chairman John Molloy said at a news briefing yesterday, adding face masks would be given to fans as a precautionary measure.
The Rolling Stones, meanwhile, cancelled their Hong Kong concerts over "concern [due to] large gatherings have created apprehension among fans and concern for their safety."
The Hong Kong Sevens is the most famous of all the seven-man team rugby union tournaments and the three-day event attracts around 40,000 fans each year.
England won the tournament last year, beating Fiji 33-20 in the Cup Championship Final, while South Africa defeated Scotland in the Plate Championship Final.
Taiwan was unlucky not to emerge from the third tier Bowl Championship Final encounter with Morrocco as the winner, narrowly being beaten 15-12.
Fiji is the most successful sevens nation in the world with 10 wins, closely followed by New Zealand with eight and Australia with five.
This year, New Zealand is the team in form, but England is coming back into contention and will be a favorite with many of the locals, who will be fueling one of the biggest gambling days of the year in the former British territory. Fiji is the dark horse favorite.
Pundits are saying that this year's Hong Kong Sevens should be one of the most competitive ever. Games are 10-minutes long for each half, with a two-minute interval.
There are six groups each of four teams, with Taiwan in Pool B and taking on England, Singapore and Tonga.
It is slated to play Tonga today, England and Singapore tomorrow and if it makes it through, to the quarterfinals, semifinals and final on Sunday, the concluding day of the tournament.
MEDVEDEV AWAITS: The world No. 1 Spainiard said that he is ‘finding the right shots’ as he pushed his record so far this year to 16 victories and no losses Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday extended his unbeaten season and got revenge over Cameron Norrie to reach the semi-finals at Indian Wells for a fifth straight year. The world No. 1 from Spain emerged from a see-saw battle with 29th-ranked Norrie with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. In the semis tomorrow, he faces Russian Daniil Medvedev, who pushed his own ATP winning streak to eight matches with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over defending champion Jack Draper. World No. 2 Jannik Sinner powered past Learner Tien 6-1, 6-2 to line up a semi-final with fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Arthur Fils. Alcaraz, 22, became
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
Thanks to Italy beating Mexico on Wednesday, the US get another chance in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). What looked like a potentially disastrous early exit for US manager Mark DeRosa and his team turned out to be nothing more than substantial worry and significant embarrassment for about 24 hours. It remains to be seen whether the US really want to win badly enough for the reprieve to matter, as if it is just a switch they can flick, but there is little reason for their fans to be optimistic. The team’s attitude and behavior have been all over the place when
Ollie Watkins’ second-half header on Thursday gave Aston Villa a 1-0 win over Lille OSC in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League round-of-16 tie. Just past the hour mark, Ezri Konsa sent a deep pass that Emi Buendia headed to Watkins in the home team’s box. The England forward noticed goalkeeper Berke Ozer was off his line before sending a looping header over him and into the net. Minutes later, Watkins wasted a chance to double the advantage when he failed to score in a one-on-one with the ’keeper. Nottingham Forest were stunned 1-0 by Danish club Midtjylland, with substitute Cho
RSS