For the fifth year in a row, Two Up Front has been entrusted with publishing the official Hong Kong Sevens souvenir programme and pocket guide.

The dual publication has become a must-have item for the thousands of fans who attend the showpiece and has sold out every year since Two Up Front first became involved in 2005.

"Each year, the challenge is to produce a programme and pocket guide that matches the importance of the occasion and this year is no different,” said Two Up Front project director Simon Wait.

"The feedback we receive from the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union and Sevens fans is always excellent but there is no danger of us becoming complacent.

"We will once again be using the best rugby writers and photographers to provide quality content and our design team understand the need to come up with a product that looks as good as it reads.”

After moribund programme sales up to 2004, the HKRFU hired Hong Kong-based sports publishing and PR firm Two Up Front to produce the programme for the 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens.

Two Up Front introduced the concept of a pocket guide to be sold with the programme - and the dual publication format has proved extremely popular with fans, players and officials.

Two Up Front also publishes the souvenir programmes for the GFI HKFC Tens rugby tournament and UBS Hong Kong Open golf showpiece.

In addition, the company handles worldwide PR for the GFI Hong Kong Tens, the UBS Hong Kong Open, the Hong Kong Soccer Sevens and the Ballantine¡¦s Championship golf tournament in Korea.

Two Up Front has notched a publishing "first” with its official souvenir programme for the Bledisloe Cup rugby union test in Hong Kong.

The 80-page programme proved a must-have keepsake for many of the 39,000-plus fans who attended the historic New Zealand versus Australia match on 1 November.

The programme included exclusive interviews with All Blacks coach Graham Henry and captain Richie McCaw and Wallabies coach Robbie Deans and key player Matt Giteau.

In addition, it contained a comprehensive history of the Bledisloe Cup, including the results of all New Zealand versus Australia matches since the countries first played each other in 1903, player profiles, a 2008 season review and other essential information.

"The feedback about the programme has been very positive,” said Two Up Front project director Simon Wait.

"As well as insisting on an attractive design and the highest production values, we enlisted contributions from some of the top rugby union writers in New Zealand and Australia to give the publication unmatched authority and credibility.

"We set out to publish a programme that would do justice to the occasion - the first-ever Bledisloe Cup test played outside New Zealand or Australia - and we certainly achieved that.”

For the record, New Zealand beat Australia 19-14 in Hong Kong to win the Bledisloe Cup series 3-1.

Hong Kong-based Two Up Front beat off competition from established sports publishers in New Zealand and Australia to secure the programme contract.

The company has produced the official souvenir programme and pocket guide for the world famous Hong Kong Sevens since 2005.

In addition, Two Up Front handles PR for several high-profile sports events, including the UBS Hong Kong Open and Ballantine’s Championship (Korea) golf tournaments, the GFI HKFC Tens rugby tournament; the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes; and Hong Kong¡¦s International Soccer Sevens.

Organisers of the forthcoming Bledisloe Cup rugby union test in Hong Kong have turned to Two Up Front to publish the official souvenir programme.

The match, to be played on 1 November 2008, will mark the first time New Zealand and Australia have played a Bledisloe Cup encounter on neutral territory.

The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union, in conjunction with its counterparts in New Zealand and Australia, has entrusted Two Up Front with the task of producing a programme in keeping with the unique nature of the occasion.

The company beat off competition from established sports publishers in New Zealand and Australia to secure the contract.

Hong Kong-based Two Up Front has produced the official souvenir programme and pocket guide for the world famous Hong Kong Sevens since 2005.

"We’re delighted to be awarded this prestigious contract and to be playing a key role in the staging of this historic Bledisloe Cup match,” said Two Up Front editorial director Niall Donnelly.

"The participating unions have obviously taken into account our strong track record in publishing the Hong Kong Sevens programme and pocket guide, in addition to various other sports publications.

"Interest in the Bledisloe Cup match in Hong Kong has been phenomenal and our aim will be to publish a world class programme that does justice to the occasion.”

Two Up Front is Asia’s premier sports publishing and PR company, playing a key role in the staging of various high profile sports events.

The company’s portfolio includes two world-class golf tournaments, the UBS Hong Kong Open and the Ballantine’s Championship in Korea; the Hong Kong Sevens and GFI HKFC Tens rugby tournaments; the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes; and Hong Kong’s International Soccer Sevens.

Two Up Front’s official Hong Kong Sevens souvenir programme and pocket guide sold out in just a few hours at the rugby showpiece.

The lavishly designed and illustrated dual publication proved to be a prized possession among fans and by 11am on the second day of the three-day tournament all copies had been snapped up.

The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union was delighted. “The official programme for the 2008 event was a fantastic publication and we received a lot of very positive feedback on yet another great read,” said the Union’s Sevens and commercial manager Warrick Dent.

With the stadium open for around seven hours on the first evening of the Sevens and the public being re-admitted at 7:45am on the second day, it meant the programme and pocket guide sold out in around 10 hours.

“Since we took over responsibility for producing the Sevens programme in 2005 it has sold out every year, but this was the first time all copies had gone by the second day,” said Two Up Front editorial director Niall Donnelly.

“It speaks volumes for the quality of the programme and we feel that over the past four years we have raised the bar for tournament publications – not just at the Sevens, but other events as well.”

The dual publication format for the Sevens has proved extremely popular with fans, players and officials. Many people like to keep the programme in their bag or hotel room, to be saved as a permanent souvenir, while carrying the pocket guide so they can keep up with matches and fill in the score boxes.

A key feature of the 2008 programme was a 12-page retrospective, “My Favourite Sevens”, in which great players of the past wrote first-hand about their memories of the tournament.

Contributors included Sir Clive Woodward (Barbarians), David Campese (Australia), Eric Rush and Jonah Lomu (both New Zealand), Daisuke Ohata (Japan), Simon Amor (England) and five-time Player of the Tournament Waisale Serevi (Fiji).

Two Up Front also publishes the HKRFU’s official magazine, Rugby Talk, and the souvenir programmes for the GFI HKFC Tens rugby tournament and UBS Hong Kong Open golf showpiece.

In addition, the company handles worldwide PR for the GFI Hong Kong Tens, the UBS Hong Kong Open, the Hong Kong International Soccer Sevens and the Ballantine’s Championship golf tournament in Korea.