Saturday 3rd February 2006 - Wellington, New Zealand

In an epic duel with Fiji, Samoa emerged winners of the NZI International Sevens Tournament in Wellington,New Zealand,
the third in the 2006/2007 IRB Sevens World Series.


16 National Teams were involved in the two day event, the final being a showcase of Pacific Islanders Rugby at the very highest level before a sellout crowd and a huge Television audience.

IRB Sevens World Series: NZI Sevens at Wellington, New Zealand, February 2-3 2007

Facts about the Tournament prior to the start:

Now known as the NZI Sevens the tournament is in its eighth year and will be held at the
Westpac Stadium on 2-3 February.
The NZ Sevens coach Gordon Tietjens is in his 14th year of taking the team.

The NZI Sevens is the third of eight IRB Sevens World Series tournaments in the series.
The first was staged in United Arab Emirates (Dubai) on 1-2 December; the second was in
South Africa (George) on 8-9 December.
The tournament after the NZI Sevens will be in San Diego (United States) on 10-11 February.
The other tournaments are held in Hong Kong, Australia (Adelaide Oval), England (Twickenam)
and Scotland (Murrayfield).

The winner of the Wellington leg wins the local tournament Cup trophy.
In 2006, Fiji won the tournament (and the overall series).
New Zealand had held the tournament title for the previous three years
and the series title for all the previous six years.
This year the Westpac Stadium capacity has increased by 500 seats to 35,000.
Matches start at 1pm on both the Friday and the Saturday; finishing at approximately
10:15 on Friday and 9:30 on Saturday.
The 16 teams are split into four pools.
Each team is made up of 12 players; seven on the field during at any time, with a reserve bench of three.
Play on the first day of the tournament consists of pool matches on a round-robin basis.
Points are awarded for wins, losses and draws and go towards each team's final points tabulation.
Matches are seven minute halves with a two-minute break in between.
There are four finals:
The Cup, the Plate, the Bowl and the Shield.
The Cup Final features 10-minute halves and a five-minute break.

Following completion of all the pool matches on day one; the first and second placed teams in each pool progress to the Cup Championship.
The third and fourth placed teams of each pool progress to the Bowl Championship.

After two rounds the points table is New Zealand 36; South Africa 36; England 24; Fiji 24;
Samoa 12; France 10; Wales 8; Australia 6; Tunisia 6; Canada 4 and Argentina 2.
Fact file courtesy Wellington Rugby. NZI Sevens website: www.sevens.co.nz

Pools:

Pool A - Fiji, France, Portugal, USA.

Pool B - South Africa, Australia, Canada, Cook Islands.

Pool C - England, Samoa, Scotland, Papua New Guinea.

Pool D - New Zealand, Argentina, Kenya, Tonga.

Day One: Friday 2 February 2007

Match - Pool - Teams (Winner in red) - Time - Winning score in red

1 C1 v C3 England v Scotland 1.00pm 33-12
2 C2 v C4 Samoa v Papua New Guinea 1.22pm 26-0
3 B1 v B3 South Africa v Canada 1.44pm 24-10
4 B2 v B4 Australia v Cook Islands 2.06pm 35-17

5 A1 v A3 Fiji v Portugal 2.28pm 42-0
6 A2 v A4 France v USA 2.50pm 17-14
7 D1 v D3 NZ v Kenya 3.12pm 38-0
8 D2 v D4 Argentina v Tonga 3.34pm 14-12

9 C1 v C4 England v Papua New Guinea 3.56pm 22-7
10 C2 v C3 Samoa v Scotland 4.18pm 31-26
11 B1 v B4 South Africa v Cook Islands 4.40pm 31-12
12 B2 v B3 Australia v Canada 5.02pm 26-12
13 A1 v A4 Fiji v USA 5.24pm 43-0
14 A2 v A3 France v Portugal 5.46pm 22-14
15 D1 v D4 NZ v Tonga 6.08pm 19-5
16 D2 v D3 Argentina v Kenya 6.30pm 32-14
17 C3 v C4 Scotland v Papua New Guinea 6.52pm 17-12
18 B3 v B4 Canada v Cook Islands 7.14pm 24-12
19 A3 v A4 Portugal v USA 7.36pm 26-21
20 D3 v D4 Kenya v Tonga 7.58pm 24-7

Parade of Nations 8.20pm

21 C1 v C2 England v Samoa 8.50pm 19-12
22 B1 v B2 South Africa v Australia 9.12pm 27-7
23 A1 v A2 Fiji v France 9.34pm 47-7
24 D1 v D2 NZ v Argentina 9.56pm 33-5

Tries/points per team Day one:

Fiji 20/132, NZ 14/90, South Africa 14/82, Samoa 12/76, England 11/67, Kenya 10/56,
Scotland 9/55,Australia 8/54, Cook Islands 9/53, Canada 8/48, France 8/46,
Portugal 6/40, USA 5/35, Argentinia 5/31,Tonga 4/26, Papua New Guinea 3/19.

Day two: Saturday 3 February 2007

Match - Duration - Time - Teams (Winner and score in red)

25 1/4 finals Bowl
3rd Pool A v 4th Pool B 22 mins 1.00pm Portugal v Cook Islands 24-12

26 1/4 finals Bowl
3rd Pool D v 4th Pool C 22 mins 1.22pm Tonga v Papua New Guinea 19-12

27 1/4 finals Bowl
3rd Pool C v 4th Pool D 22 mins 1.44pm Scotland v Argentina 17-12

28 1/4 finals Bowl
3rd Pool B v 4th Pool A 22 mins 2.06pm Australia v USA 33-14

Interval 5 mins

29 1/4 finals Cup
1st Pool A v 2nd Pool B 22 mins 2.33pm Fiji v Canada 60-0

30 1/4 finals Cup
1st Pool D v 2nd Pool C 22 mins 2.55pm New Zealand v England 14-7

31 1/4 finals Cup
1st Pool C v 2nd Pool D 22 mins 3.17pm Samoa v Kenya 26-21

32 1/4 finals Cup
1st Pool B v 2nd Pool A 22 mins 3.39pm South Africa v France 26-14

Interval 9 mins

33 Semi final Shield
Loser match 25 v Loser match 26 22 mins 4.10pm
Portugal v Papua New Guinea 26-19

34 Semi final Shield
Loser match 27 v Loser match 28 22 mins 4.32pm
Scotland v USA 26-19


35 Semi final Bowl
Winner match 25 v Winner match 26 22 mins 4.54pm
Cook Islands v Tonga 29-7

36 Semi final Bowl
Winner match 27 v Winner match 28 22 mins 5.16pm
Argentina v Australia extra time 21-21: first points (a try 26-21)


37 Semi final Plate
Loser match 29 v Loser match 30 22 mins 5.38pm
Canada v England 29-7

38 Semi final Plate
Loser match 31 v Loser match 32 22 mins 6.00pm
Kenya v France 26-5

Interval 13 mins

39 Semi final Cup
Winner match 29 v Winner match 30 25 mins 6.35pm
Fiji v New Zealand 31-0

40 Semi final Cup
Winner match 31 v Winner match 32 22 mins 7.00pm
Samoa v South Africa 14-12

Interval 8 mins

41 Shield final - Winner: Portugal
Winner match 33 v Winner match 34 30 mins 7.30pm
Portugal v Scotland 26-24

42 Bowl final - Winner: Argentina
Winner match 35 v Winner match 36 30 mins 8.00pm
Tonga v Argentina 12-5

43 Plate final - Winner: England
Winner match 37 v Winner match 38 30 mins 8.30pm
England v France 21-12

44 Cup final - Winner: Samoa
Winner match 39 v Winner match 40 30 mins 9.00pm
Fiji v Samoa 17-14

* Presentations took place after each final.