Life In The Fast Laney

Former Scotland internationalist Brendan Laney has jumped on the chance to be a part of the Hong Kong Rugby Festival which culminates with the Hong Kong Sevens – which will see the Scotland 7s team compete against the top rugby sevens countries in the world. Laney will join in the fun next week alongside one of the world’s most iconic rugby players. Nicknamed “Chainsaw” for the way he cuts through defences, Laney will turn out for the All Blacks Legends side alongside Jonah Lomu at the GFI Hong Kong Tens tournament. The GFI Hong Kong Tens is a popular pre-cursor to the Hong Kong Sevens and takes place on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 March, immediately before the main international event at the weekend when the Scotland 7s team will be competing,  The Hong Kong Tens is a fantastic opportunity to watch some silky rugby skills on display amongst the carnival atmosphere of the Hong Kong Football Club. Due to its overwhelming and ever increasing success, the Tens has been held every year since 1986, and has become an integral part of the week long Hong Kong Rugby Festival. Lomu’s rise to global celebrity status coincided with his three winning appearances at the Hong Kong Sevens, starting in 1994, when New Zealand Sevens coach Gordon Tietjens gave him his first real break on the international scene. Hong Kong holds some special memories for me, Lomu said. I’m looking forward to playing there again with some of my old mates in the New Zealand Legends side.  Lomu was named player of the tournament in 1995 and went on to star for the All Blacks at the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, before returning to Hong Kong in 1996 to complete a hat-trick of Sevens wins – his last playing appearance in the territory.  Lomu will join Scott Robertson, Paul Miller, Orene Ai’i and Laney in the Legends line-up set to compete against other international stars also in the Tens including World Cup-winning Wallaby Toutai Kefu, Scott McLeod, Mark Ranby, and Keith Lowen, who will appear for defending Tens champions New Zealand Metro. A total of 24 teams will take part in the Tens, competing in the Cup, Plate and Bowl competitions. At the main event at the weekend, Scotland 7s will play Fiji, Portugal and Sri Lanka in the Pool stages. Sevens will return to the country of its birth as the final leg of the IRB Sevens World Series comes to Murrayfield on 2 and 3 June. The Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s 2007 will feature the world’s top teams over two days of fast flowing, skilful and dynamic international rugby sevens together with a fun-packed Festival of Rugby on the back pitches, making it the ‘not-to-be-missed’ event of the summer.  Tickets are available NOW at the fantastic value price of only£10 for one day or just£15 for both (with free concessions on all pre-booked tickets).