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NZI Sevens Success

Posted on 10th February 2010

Wellington’s eleventh NZI Sevens has been declared a success by all.

Fiji were crowned NZI Sevens Cup Champions for 2010 on Saturday night after exhibiting their exciting and powerful brand of sevens rugby throughout the two-day event. Fiji edged out Samoa 19-14 in the final. Although Samoa knocked the New Zealand sevens team out in the semi-finals, the crowd and spectacle continued to grow on Saturday night with supporters enjoying the close encounters in all four finals.

NZI Sevens General Manager, Steve Walters said “The chants continued in full swing for both Fiji and Samoa in the Cup final which just shows the support and passion the fans have for this event.”

On the way to winning the NZI Sevens for the first time since 2006, the Fiji sevens team gave up their holiday to go into camp early. “On New Year's Eve we were in camp and that's why we've won the tournament today - we're very proud,” Fijian captain, Emosi Vucago said following their win on Saturday night.

The first final of the night for the Shield was a close tussle between Tonga and USA, with the USA winning by three points, 17-14. A converted Welsh try saw them sneak ahead of France in their Bowl Final on Saturday, 7-5 and in the other final of the night, Australia triumphed over South Africa in the match up for the Plate, 26-22. 

The IRB Sevens World Series standings still sees New Zealand on top with 64 points but Fiji have closed the gap to sit second on 60 points. Samoa’s tremendous effort to reach the final sees them in third place on 46 points. Thirteen of the teams that played in Wellington head to Las Vegas for the fourth leg of the IRB Sevens World Series, which takes place on 13/14 February. This will be the first time Las Vegas has hosted the tournament.

The NZI Sevens was both a success on and off the field. Fans were well behaved and the city, tournament organisers and Police were all delighted with the weekend. Steve Walters added “Overall we are thrilled with the success of the NZI Sevens. It’s hard to imagine how the event can get better but each year it does. The support from the teams, fans and volunteers is central to the tournament’s success and we are lucky that this continues to grow.”

David Perks, CEO of Positively Wellington Tourism was also pleased with the success of the tournament. “It does an immense amount for Wellington. We believe it brings over $15 million worth of new spend and some 45,000 people to the city. About half of those visitors have tickets to the event and the others come to town regardless because they know everyone will be celebrating Wellington-style when the tournament is on.”

This year saw the Street Party return to Courtenay Place on the Saturday night with entertainment for everyone and the streets blocked off to traffic. Inspector Simon Perry said “that considering nearly 73,000 people filled the stadium over two days; the behaviour was of a good standard. There was the usual party atmosphere and the crowd enjoyed themselves.”