7 reasons to love the Shanghai Sevens
Team China is likely to be chasing rugby sevens gold in the 2016 Summer Olympics. Rugby Sevens returns to Shanghai for the third straight year this weekend -- so it's this summer’s prime chance for Shanghainese to spend a whole weekend shouting “try” at brawny athletes while drinking beer in immoderate quantities.
Here are seven reasons why you should join the wild crowd at Yuanshen Sports Center.
More on CNNGo: Win tickets to the 2011 Shanghai Sevens
1. The saga begins
Rugby has been a low-profile sport in China, but things are about to change.
Once rugby sevens was chosen as a new Olympic discipline for Rio 2016, the government started to pour generous buckets of money into the sport’s development.
Elite training programs have been set up all around the country and the first unified rugby championship has just ended.
As rugby will soon become China’s new prey in its gold medal hunt, Shanghai Sevens attendees will be able to say “I was there when the Chinese rugby saga all began".
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2. Return of the dragon
Whoever brands rugby sevens as a misogynist testosterone fest should think again: a whopping four female teams are set to participate in the women’s tournament, facing each other several times over the two days for evident lack of a better combination.
The best female rugby sevens teams from around the region, namely China and Kazakhstan, are due to face off.
As the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games generated dismay among the local fans when in a hapless final Kazakhstan beat teh favorite China -- which had not conceded a single point until then -- the Shanghai Sevens will be the perfect occasion for China and the sevens team to avenge themselves.
3. Mighty Mongolians’ debut
This year’s Shanghai Sevens might be the world’s only chance to see the Mongolian rugby team in action as the team is participating in an international rugby event for the first time.
A haze of mystery surrounds the arrival of the Mongolian team. Nobody really knows if the mighty Mongol warriors, who come from a country already feared for its mastery in wrestling and archery, will make it or break it.
Even the event organizer Mark Thomas knows little about the players, diplomatically stating “they should be physically quite strong, while technique-wise still on the learning curve”.
4. Biggest rugby event
With 12 men’s teams and four women’s teams, 10,000 spectators expected and live broadcasting on Shanghai Media Group channels, Shanghai Sevens 2011 is by far the biggest rugby event ever in mainland China, second only to the Hong Kong Sevens as the leading rugby event in Asia.
Considering that the first oval ball was kicked in China 150 years ago, and most likely right in Shanghai by foreigners in the British settlement, this is not a superlative to overlook.
See a full list of participating teams in 2011 Shanghai Rugby Sevens.
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5. Abundant alcohol
Rugby Sevens events are notorious for the boozy spirit just as much as they are for oval balls. To live up to the stereotype, the organizers have set up mighty provision of beers and similar for every taste: cider, stout and lager beer, all for a steal at RMB 30 a pint.
If that is not enough, further ethanol support will be offered by the Big Bamboo (132 Nanyang Lu, near Xikang Lu, + 86 21 6256 2265 or 381 Hongfeng Lu, near Biyun Lu + 86 21 5030 1779) and its on-site stand and, most likely, by packs of street vendors around the Yuanshen Sports Center.
6. Laughing at foreigners
Since the time they danced foxtrot on the Bund and watched horses racing in what is now People’s Square, Shanghai expats have never missed a chance to embarrass themselves in front of the locals.
This year’s Shanghai sevens will be well another occasion, as outside the stadium, spectators will be able to paint their faces and join collective oval ball-pass classes.
No doubt such activities will reinforce the local conviction that expatriates are mostly a bunch of nutters.
7. A chance to party
If all the above is not enough, even the most skeptical will concede the Shanghai Sevens is yet another good occasion to party.
As part of the Sevens, a VIP party is being organized on the Bund on August 27 with rugby celebrities of the likes of Eddie Jones and Gordon Tietjens.
Aside from that, pubs and bars around the city are ready to harbor the crowds returning from the stadium still thirsty.
Check out the Big Bamboo, which is also supporting the event with an on-site stand, or for a closer Pudong alternative, the Irishman’s Pub near Century Park (No. 20, Lane 199 Fangdian Lu, near Yanggao Zhong Lu, + 86 21 5033 9163).
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2011 Shanghai Sevens, August 27-28, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Yuanshen Sports Center, 665 Yuanshen Lu, near Weifang Lu 源深体育中心, 源深路655号, 近潍坊路, RMB 100, special pricing and ticket pick-up through +86 21 5132 5122, more info at Shanghai7s.com
