Every week, England 7s star Mathew Drew Turner takes on the role of brazen, if not cheeky, reporter for RWU. Above, he negotiates Cyber Port, outside Hong Kong.
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – It’s been a while since I’ve had time to actually sit down and think about what to write, but now that I’m home it’s time to entertain you all with all the latest, including some behind-the-scenes happenings of our recent trips to Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Hong Kong: Let’s start off with Hong Kong because of obvious reason – it happened before Tokyo – and to be honest if I don’t start with it I’ll probably forget all about it. Anyway, we are lucky enough to be able to go to Hong Kong 5 days before the tournament week started, so we get to acclimatise and have a little look around the town before the week of madness and build-up to what’s likely the world’s most famous Sevens event on the calendar. We stayed in a place called Cyber Port, which is about 30-40mins outside of Hong Kong itself but as always, we managed to find a way to entertain ourselves; A few boys test-drove Tesla sports car and we all spent plenty of hours in the suanas and steam rooms. But we ll keep those stories to ourselves. Hong Kong can get lonely. (haha)
Chris Cracknell and I became part of the poolside scenery along with Christian Lewis-Pratt (CLP) and Russell Earnshaw, who had one of his Top 5 Sleeps alongside said pool. Charlie Walker, the new-comer to the team for the last two tourneys, should have joined us poolside, but it’s rumored that the hotel staff asked not to take his top off… in case he might blind a fellow guest. Law suits these days can get messy.
Sam Edgerly, who made his debut in Tokyo, offically brought the vest-tan back into fashion, was called Edgzilla. Honestly, he was the happiest man in the world. Well, at least Asia… As he was average height for 3 weeks of his life! (something I can’t talk about).
Onto The Rugby: It was amazing playing in Hong Kong again and I’m not going to lie; the South Stands looked very tasty this year. I’ve decided when I hang my boots up, I ll be in the middle of that one day, hurling abuse at players. The whole experience of Hong Kong Sevens is overwhelming and even though this was my 3rd time playing [cough] there, I still found myself taking photos of the crowds and of the stadium.
Tokyo: From Hong Kong we went onto Tokyo, which is in Japan – if you didn’t know that. Okay, Declan? [RWU co-host Declan Yeats] Tokyo must be the cleanest but the busiest city I’ve been to. The weird thing is, there’s either thousands of people walking the streets or zero! It’s like they vanish into nowhere but then magically appear back. Anyway… The first day of the tournament was a nightmare! The weather was horrible! The wind was so strong the rain felt like it was raining horizontally, but surprisingly, playing was a lot of fun. We’re used to training in the cold/wet weather. Team Note: John Brake decided he wanted to stay in Tokyo “…for a few days after the tourney.” and hasn’t been heard from since. Tokyo has him now.
Summarizing, here are a few great discoveries from Hong Kong & Tokyo:
1. CLP is a bloody good singer.
2. Dan Norton and Rob Vickerman love asking what time it is.
3. Speaking with an Asian accent doesn’t make you fluent in Japanese… or what ever it is.
4. Electrical goods are exceptionally cheap, but this just makes you buy things you don’t really need.
5. And lastly? No I don’t want a bloody massage! Do I look like a 45-year-old divorced man with no morals!?
There you have it. Short and Sharp was my theme this week and, well… I live by it in all aspects. I repeat… all aspects.