Can New Zealand make it three in a row at the biggest party of the summer?
Posted by Hamish McBrearty on January 31st, 2008
The Wellington leg of the IRB Sevens World Series gets under way on Friday with the home side looking to continue their perfect record after claiming the Dubai and George legs of the tournament. Fans always create a party atmosphere at the ground with costumes, drinking dancing and maybe watching a little rugby.
The sevens weekend in Wellington is one of the biggest events on the sporting calendar as fans from around the country descend on Westpac Stadium dressed in costumes ranging from naughty nurses to drag queens to Borat. Sure many come to party rather than to watch the rugby, but when it gets down to the finals, all eyes will be on the fourteen men on the field.
Coach Gordon Tietjens and his New Zealand Sevens team have had the best possible start to the 2007-8 World Series, beating arch rivals Fiji in the final in both Dubai and George. Their victory in George, the South African leg of the World Series, was a convincing one, 34-7, but it was also two months ago and the Fijians will be hungry for revenge.
Until recently Wellington was not a happy hunting ground for the home side, frequently falling to Fiji, but they have had more success in recent years. Last year’s tournament was won by Samoa, their first ever victory in a World Series leg, when they beat New Zealand in the semi final and Fiji in the final.
While the favourites for this tournament are the traditional powers New Zealand and Fiji, South Africa and Argentina have shown some promise this year and teams like England and Samoa are capable of causing upsets. Traditional crowd favourites Kenya have performed well in this year’s series and, given the recent political unrest in their country, will be looking to give the fans back home something the cheer about, although sitting fifth equal in the World Series standings is already pretty good.
Police have already said they will be clamping down on alcohol fuelled bad behaviour at this year’s tournament, as well as costumes deemed too revealing , although traditionally the huge crowds are very well behaved.
Over the first day of the tournament the focus is on entertainment and having fun for both the players and the fans. When the tournament switches gear on the second day, it becomes serious business for all concerned, and the home fans will be hoping that their team can make it three wins in a row and take a stranglehold on this year’s title.
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The Can New Zealand make it three in a row at the biggest party of the summer? by Hamish McBrearty, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
