The Wellington Rugby Sevens party might be over after next year...

The Wellington Rugby Sevens party might be over after next year...

Wellington applied for a permanent place as host of the New Zealand Sevens. They have hosted the tournament for ten years. Its been a great place for top games and great fun for two days every January.

But the New Zealand Rugby Union has told them they must reapply along with all the other main centres. Dunedin which is in the process of constructing an indoor stadium, has applied along with Auckland and Christchurch, both of whom are revamping their stadiums for the Rugby World Cup in NZ in 2011.

All is not lost for Wellington, after all their great party has been going for ten years. Auckland doesn't have a great record organising anything, Dunedin are new at that sort of thing, and Christchurch the home of the champion Crusaders Super 14 franchise, could be the dark horse. We will all find out next year. In the meantime the semis and finals continue tonight, without New Zealand. Party party!

Wellington Sevens party

Not the greatest party for NZ at Wellington Sevens...

Not the greatest party for New Zealand at Wellington Sevens ...

The spectators performed admirably in their variety of dress-ups and dress-downs. It was an exciting and colourful display in the stands. Wellington has always had a great party atmosphere in the ten years the New Zealand Sevens tournament has been played at Westpac Stadium in Wellington City.

On the field there were many upsets during the opening day, including the Welsh defeat of NZ in the opening game. The Kiwis were pretty underwhelming in that game, showing an unprecedented lack of self discipline. Fiji and season competition leaders, South Africa were also beaten by lesser teams.

New Zealand beat South Africa narrowly in the quarter finals and Argentina in the semis.

In the finals New Zealand had England on the ropes but couldn't finish them off. England scored in the final seconds to deny New Zealand their seemingly inevitable victory. A number of injured players didn't help the Kiwis cause, including skipper DJ Forbes playing the final with stress fractures in his leg with the aid of pain killers. But sport is about the players who make it onto the field, not those who could have or may have! Congratulations to England for their second half performance.