The News Review:
- Banks Lower the Volume at Hong Kong’s Rugby Bash
- The weekend in Colorado rugby
- Rogge ‘sympathetic’ to rugby in lympics
- A Little Rugby With Your Cross-Dressing?
- USC Women fall in USA Rugby South Regional Championship
- Rugby-ACT Brumbies player Shawn Mackay in coma
Banks Lower the Volume at Hong Kong’s Rugby Bash
BusinessWeek
Any bank that has taken (or been forced to take) government money to help buoy its bottom line went to great lengths to demonstrate how modest its Sevens box was. They noted that the bankers who flew in for the event did so on their own dime that the live music or elaborate sound systems of previous years had been replaced by i-Pods and that they had not splurged on decadent decorations. Also there was a distinct lack of scantily clad women and no excess of branded give-away T-shirts hats rugby balls toys or beer mugs. In fact most banks had refrained from having a theme altogether settling for a few rugby-inspired pictures on the wall and the action on the pitch below as the main attractions. Morgan Stanley even went as far as reusing the decorations from last year after finding them still on the walls when they returned to set up their box last week. Tightening the belt even more Goldman Sachs and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch had no boxes at the executive level at all this year although Goldman did have a reserved seating area downstairs. Many of the hedge funds and private equity firms who had boxes—or at least stalls—last year had also not booked their own area this year and were probably pleased to attend one of the bank boxes—even if the hospitality was more restrained than in yesteryears.
The weekend in Colorado rugby
Examiner.com
A fifty-five meter penalty kick gave the Santa Monica Rugby Club the win as time expired and dropped the Barbarians to 1-2 with four games remaining in the regular season. The loss puts Denver in fifth place in the.
Rogge ‘sympathetic’ to rugby in lympics
AFP
But the former player for the Belgian national rugby team said the decision over its inclusion in the 2016 lympics was not up to him. “Let me say very clearly I do not vote. I have a lot of sympathy but I have no vote” Rogge told a press conference in Wellington. Rugby sevens is one of a number of sports — including squash baseball softball karate golf and roller sports — vying for two spots alongside the 26 existing events in 2016.
Related from Zxyangchen: IC president Rogge says Asia sports rising fast
A Little Rugby With Your Cross-Dressing?
New York Times
But the weather did nothing to dampen the spirits — beer Pimm’s Cup and Jack-and-Coke mostly — at the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament. The Sevens has long been an annual coping mechanism for the BlackBerried and Burberried expatriate set the well-heeled bankers brokers lawyers and property developers across the Asia-Pacific region. The event has been inked into marketing plans and promotional budgets for decades now: Rent a luxury box fly in a few dozen favored clients and indulge in a weekend of off-the-hook drinking and off-the-record debauchery. Tickets to the three-day event — the fraction that were available to the general public — sold out in two hours this year as usual but the global economic crisis was apparent in the corporate hospitality suites at Hong Kong Stadium. “Maybe they need to be quieter and more sensible in their approach this year” Beth Coalter director of the International Rugby Board’s Sevens World Series said Thursday speaking about corporate bashes.
USC Women fall in USA Rugby South Regional Championship
Examiner.com
USC were defeated heavily by the University of Central Florida by a score of 64-0. The University of South Carolina women’s rugby team traveled to the final four in Tuscaloosa Al. with only 14 players. Add to this an early head injury to one of USC’s forwards and a tough job turned into the impossible. "They battled their hearts out but we just couldn’t do it" said USC Women’s Coach Daniel "Fuzzy" Cain. UCF have had a very successful season putting up 50-plus points four times in five games and only conceding 6 points along the way.
Rugby-ACT Brumbies player Shawn Mackay in coma
Reuters UK
“He is currently in a critical condition but is stable andwe won’t know the full extent of his injuries until he isbrought out of a coma in two days time. Mackay was recruited by the Brumbies this season afterspending the past five years playing rugby league in Sydney. He was selected as a reserve for the Brumbies match againstthe Sharks on Saturday but came off the bench to play in histeam’s 35-14 loss. (Reporting by Julian Linden; Editing by Nick Mulvenney) To query or comment on this story emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.