Wellington Sevens
Encyclopedia
The Wellington Sevens or the New Zealand International Sevens is an annual rugby sevens
tournament held in Wellington
, New Zealand
. The tournament, the third on the IRB Sevens World Series
circuit, is played at Wellington's Westpac Stadium
in early February and includes teams from 16 countries. The hosting contract between the International Rugby Board
and the New Zealand Rugby Union runs until 2011.
The event attracts over thirty thousand spectators annually. The tournament has become Wellington's largest sporting event and one of New Zealand's leading sporting events.
It also has a reputation for a party atmosphere, with a large proportion of attendees choosing to wear fancy dress. Recent years have seen large groups of costumes that vary from Fred Flintstone and Wilma to Care Bears, dance troops, wrestlers and many other interesting costumes. More recently items of recent media interest or advertisements form a key theme. Saddam Hussein
, Osama Bin Laden
, George Bush
have made appearances. Movie figures such as Men in Black
(MIB) and Austin Powers are crowd favorites and an impersonator of Austin has been a regular feature each year performing to the crowd.
In 2009 Air New Zealand
, one of the major sponsors for the Wellington sevens, introduced a 'Beads for Kisses' ambient media
campaign as a yearly sevens ritual. Over 100,000 strings of Mardi gras
style beads were given to the crowd, who could then exchange the beads for kisses from other participants. This was followed in 2010 with the addition of kissing booth
s.
The 2009 Wellington Sevens was famous for television graphics being incorrect. When a player scored a try, the graphics showed the phrase such as "1st Tryin Wellington" rather than "1st Try In Wellington".
Rugby sevens
Rugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side or VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is administered by the International Rugby Board , the body responsible for rugby union worldwide...
tournament held in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The tournament, the third on the IRB Sevens World Series
IRB Sevens World Series
The IRB Sevens World Series, known officially as the HSBC Sevens World Series as of the 2010-11 season, through sponsorship from banking group HSBC, and also sometimes called the World Sevens Series, is a series of international rugby union sevens tournaments organised for the first time in the...
circuit, is played at Wellington's Westpac Stadium
Westpac Stadium
Westpac Stadium, is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. Due to its shape and silver coloured external walls, it is colloquially known as The Cake-Tin to the locals and other New Zealanders...
in early February and includes teams from 16 countries. The hosting contract between the International Rugby Board
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
and the New Zealand Rugby Union runs until 2011.
The event attracts over thirty thousand spectators annually. The tournament has become Wellington's largest sporting event and one of New Zealand's leading sporting events.
It also has a reputation for a party atmosphere, with a large proportion of attendees choosing to wear fancy dress. Recent years have seen large groups of costumes that vary from Fred Flintstone and Wilma to Care Bears, dance troops, wrestlers and many other interesting costumes. More recently items of recent media interest or advertisements form a key theme. Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
, Osama Bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
, George Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
have made appearances. Movie figures such as Men in Black
Men in Black (series)
The Men in Black are a fictional secret organization which monitors and suppresses paranormal activity on Earth, including aliens, demons and mutants, while keeping the public ignorant of such occurrences. They were created by Lowell Cunningham, which were based on the Men in Black myths...
(MIB) and Austin Powers are crowd favorites and an impersonator of Austin has been a regular feature each year performing to the crowd.
In 2009 Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand Limited is the national airline and flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 26 domestic destinations and 24 international destinations in 15 countries across Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania, and is...
, one of the major sponsors for the Wellington sevens, introduced a 'Beads for Kisses' ambient media
Ambient media
Ambient Media started to appear in British media jargon around 1999, but now seems to be firmly established as a standard term within the advertising industry. It is the name given to a new breed of out-of-home products and services determined by some as Non-Traditional or Alternative Media...
campaign as a yearly sevens ritual. Over 100,000 strings of Mardi gras
Mardi Gras
The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
style beads were given to the crowd, who could then exchange the beads for kisses from other participants. This was followed in 2010 with the addition of kissing booth
Kissing booth
A kissing booth is a carnival attraction where the person running the booth kisses customers for money, often to raise funds for charity. Animals may also be used.-External links:* http://www.sptimes.com/2006/08/28/Pasco/A_fundraiser_in_the_b.shtml...
s.
The 2009 Wellington Sevens was famous for television graphics being incorrect. When a player scored a try, the graphics showed the phrase such as "1st Tryin Wellington" rather than "1st Try In Wellington".
Winners
| Year | Champion | Score | Runner up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 |  FijiFiji national rugby union team (sevens) The Fiji Sevens side is one of the most popular and successful Sevens teams in the world and has won the Hong Kong Sevens a record nine times since its inception in 1976. Fiji has also won the Sevens World Cup twice, winning that event in 1997 and 2005... |
24 – 14 |  New ZealandNew Zealand national rugby union team (sevens) The New Zealand national rugby union sevens team is the New Zealand representative team in rugby union sevens and competes in the IRB Sevens World Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-IRB Sevens:... |
| 2001 |  Australia |
19 – 17 | Fiji Fiji national rugby union team (sevens) The Fiji Sevens side is one of the most popular and successful Sevens teams in the world and has won the Hong Kong Sevens a record nine times since its inception in 1976. Fiji has also won the Sevens World Cup twice, winning that event in 1997 and 2005... |
| 2002 |  South AfricaSouth Africa national rugby union team (sevens) The South African national rugby union sevens team compete in the World Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-Current squad:2011–12 IRB Sevens World Series 14-man squad :#Cecil Afrika... |
17 – 14 |  SamoaSamoa national rugby union team (sevens) The Samoa national rugby union team represent Samoa internationally in rugby sevens, a competitive sports tournament titled the IRB Sevens World Series which takes place annually in seven countries; United Arab Emirates, South Africa, New Zealand, United States, Hong Kong, Australia, England and... |
| 2003 | New Zealand New Zealand national rugby union team (sevens) The New Zealand national rugby union sevens team is the New Zealand representative team in rugby union sevens and competes in the IRB Sevens World Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-IRB Sevens:... |
38 – 26 |  EnglandEngland national rugby union team (sevens) The English national rugby union sevens team compete in the World Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-Honours:* 1973 International Seven-A-Side Tournament - Winners* Rugby World Cup Sevens Winners 1993* Hong Kong Sevens Winners 2002* Hong Kong Sevens Winners 2003*... |
| 2004 | New Zealand New Zealand national rugby union team (sevens) The New Zealand national rugby union sevens team is the New Zealand representative team in rugby union sevens and competes in the IRB Sevens World Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-IRB Sevens:... |
33 – 15 | Fiji Fiji national rugby union team (sevens) The Fiji Sevens side is one of the most popular and successful Sevens teams in the world and has won the Hong Kong Sevens a record nine times since its inception in 1976. Fiji has also won the Sevens World Cup twice, winning that event in 1997 and 2005... |
| 2005 | New Zealand New Zealand national rugby union team (sevens) The New Zealand national rugby union sevens team is the New Zealand representative team in rugby union sevens and competes in the IRB Sevens World Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-IRB Sevens:... |
31 – 7 |  ArgentinaArgentina national rugby union team (sevens) The Argentina national rugby union sevens team compete in the World Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens.-Current squad:A 12-man squad for the 2010–11 IRB Sevens World Series:#Santiago Bottini#Francisco Cuneo#Gonzalo Gutierrez Taboada#Francisco Merello... |
| 2006 | Fiji Fiji national rugby union team (sevens) The Fiji Sevens side is one of the most popular and successful Sevens teams in the world and has won the Hong Kong Sevens a record nine times since its inception in 1976. Fiji has also won the Sevens World Cup twice, winning that event in 1997 and 2005... |
27 – 22 | South Africa South Africa national rugby union team (sevens) The South African national rugby union sevens team compete in the World Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-Current squad:2011–12 IRB Sevens World Series 14-man squad :#Cecil Afrika... |
| 2007 2007 Wellington Sevens The Wellington Sevens, also known as the New Zealand Sevens or for sponsorship reasons the NZI Sevens, is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens... |
Samoa Samoa national rugby union team (sevens) The Samoa national rugby union team represent Samoa internationally in rugby sevens, a competitive sports tournament titled the IRB Sevens World Series which takes place annually in seven countries; United Arab Emirates, South Africa, New Zealand, United States, Hong Kong, Australia, England and... |
17 – 14 | Fiji Fiji national rugby union team (sevens) The Fiji Sevens side is one of the most popular and successful Sevens teams in the world and has won the Hong Kong Sevens a record nine times since its inception in 1976. Fiji has also won the Sevens World Cup twice, winning that event in 1997 and 2005... |
| 2008 2008 Wellington Sevens The Emirates Airline Wellington Sevens is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens... |
New Zealand New Zealand national rugby union team (sevens) The New Zealand national rugby union sevens team is the New Zealand representative team in rugby union sevens and competes in the IRB Sevens World Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-IRB Sevens:... |
22 – 17 | Samoa Samoa national rugby union team (sevens) The Samoa national rugby union team represent Samoa internationally in rugby sevens, a competitive sports tournament titled the IRB Sevens World Series which takes place annually in seven countries; United Arab Emirates, South Africa, New Zealand, United States, Hong Kong, Australia, England and... |
| 2009 2009 Wellington Sevens The NZI Wellington Sevens is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens... |
England England national rugby union team (sevens) The English national rugby union sevens team compete in the World Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-Honours:* 1973 International Seven-A-Side Tournament - Winners* Rugby World Cup Sevens Winners 1993* Hong Kong Sevens Winners 2002* Hong Kong Sevens Winners 2003*... |
19 – 17 | New Zealand New Zealand national rugby union team (sevens) The New Zealand national rugby union sevens team is the New Zealand representative team in rugby union sevens and competes in the IRB Sevens World Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-IRB Sevens:... |
| 2010 2010 Wellington Sevens The Emirates Airline Wellington Sevens is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens . The 2010 competition, took place on 4 February and 5 February the third of eight Cup tournaments in the 2009–10 IRB Sevens World Series... |
Fiji Fiji national rugby union team (sevens) The Fiji Sevens side is one of the most popular and successful Sevens teams in the world and has won the Hong Kong Sevens a record nine times since its inception in 1976. Fiji has also won the Sevens World Cup twice, winning that event in 1997 and 2005... |
19 – 14 | Samoa Samoa national rugby union team (sevens) The Samoa national rugby union team represent Samoa internationally in rugby sevens, a competitive sports tournament titled the IRB Sevens World Series which takes place annually in seven countries; United Arab Emirates, South Africa, New Zealand, United States, Hong Kong, Australia, England and... |
| 2011 2011 Wellington Sevens The Wellington Sevens is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens . The 2011 competition was held on February 4 and February 5 at Westpac Stadium.... |
New Zealand New Zealand national rugby union team (sevens) The New Zealand national rugby union sevens team is the New Zealand representative team in rugby union sevens and competes in the IRB Sevens World Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-IRB Sevens:... |
29 – 14 | England England national rugby union team (sevens) The English national rugby union sevens team compete in the World Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-Honours:* 1973 International Seven-A-Side Tournament - Winners* Rugby World Cup Sevens Winners 1993* Hong Kong Sevens Winners 2002* Hong Kong Sevens Winners 2003*... |