New Zealand National Rugby Sevens Tournament

New Zealand National Sevens
Tournament logo introduced in 2018
SportRugby union
Founded1975
No. of teams16
CountryNew Zealand
Most recent
champion(s)
Tasman – Men (2018)
Manawatu – Women (2018)
Official websitewww.nationalsevens.co.nz

The National Sevens is a rugby sevens tournament for New Zealand provincial teams. It is held annually and features a men's event and a women's event. The best teams in the country compete over two days for the respective men's and women's titles. The tournament is currently held in Tauranga.

The National Sevens also serves as an opportunity for players to be selected in New Zealand's national sevens teams.

History

The National Sevens was first held in 1975 in Auckland, where Marlborough were the very first champions. Since then the tournament has been held every year (except 1987, 1988, and 2003) and held at various venues. A women's competition was introduced for the 1998 tournament in Roturura. In the first three decades Palmerston North hosted the National Sevens thirteen times, the last of which was in 2002. This was also the last tournament to host women's sevens until women's teams were reintroduced a decade later.

Sponsors of the National Sevens
2004–2013 Pub Charity Ltd
2014–2018 Bayleys Realty
2018–present TECT

The National Sevens moved to Queenstown for ten seasons from 2004. The 2009 event was the first tournament where the entire event was screened live by Sky TV. A women's competition was reinstated in 2013. The National Sevens was relocated to Rotorua in 2014 and then to Tauranga in December 2018.

Format

The sixteen teams for men are divided into four pools. On day one each team plays the other three teams in its pool. The top two teams from each pool qualify for the championship playoffs while the bottom two enter the bowl competition.

Venue

The first tournament was held in Auckland in 1975. From there it moved to various venues around the country: Christchurch, Blenheim, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Feilding, Pukekohe and Rotorua. From 2004 to 2013 it was hosted in Queenstown at the Recreation Ground, which is usually the home of the Wakatipu Rugby Club. The tournament then returned to Rotorua for five seasons and, since December 2018, it is held in Tauranga.

Participants

A map of NZRU provincial union boundaries, including unions competing in the National Sevens

The following teams have participated in the tournament:

Province Appearances Championships 2009 Placing
Auckland 2005-2009 2005,2006,2007,2008
Bay of Plenty 2006,2008-2009
Buller 2006
Canterbury 2006,2008-2009
Counties Manukau 2006,2008-2009
Hawke's Bay 2006,2008-2009
Horowhenua-Kapiti 2008-2009
Manawatu 2006,2008-2009
North Harbour 2004,2006,2008-2009 2004, 2009
North Otago 2005
Northland 2008-2009
Otago 2004-2009
Otago Country 2007, 2009
South Canterbury 2006,2008,2010
Southland 2006,2008-2009
Taranaki 2006,2008-2009
Tasman 2008
Waikato 2006,2008-2009
Wellington 2006,2008-2009
West Coast 2006,2008-2009

Results by year

Men's tournament

National Sevens winners since 1975:

1975–2002

Year Venue Champion
1975 Auckland Marlborough
1976 Christchurch Marlborough
1977 Blenheim Manawatu
1978 Hamilton Manawatu
1979 Palmerston North Manawatu
1980 Palmerston North Auckland
1981 Palmerston North Taranaki
1982 Feilding Taranaki
1983 Feilding Auckland
1984 Feilding Auckland
1985 Feilding Counties Manukau
1986 Feilding North Harbour
1987 Feilding North Harbour
1988 Feilding Auckland
1989 Christchurch Auckland
1990 Palmerston North Canterbury
1991 Palmerston North Auckland
1992 Palmerston North North Harbour
1993 Palmerston North Canterbury
1994 Palmerston North Counties Manukau
1995 Palmerston North Counties Manukau
1996 Palmerston North Waikato
1996–97 a Palmerston North Waikato
1997 Rotorua Waikato
1998 Rotorua Waikato
1999 Palmerston North North Harbour
2000 Palmerston North North Harbour
2001 Palmerston North North Harbour
2002 Palmerston North Wellington

Notes

^a There were two events in 1996 due to a seasonal switch from March to November. Waikato won four titles between 1996 and 1998.

2004–2013

The National Sevens switched from a November schedule to a January schedule for the 2003–04 season and, as such, the 2002 tournament was followed by the 2004 tournament. The new venue was the Recreation Ground in Queenstown which hosted the National Sevens for ten years from 2004 to 2013.

Year Venue Cup final Placings Ref
Winner Score Runner-up Plate Bowl Shield
2004 Queenstown
North Harbour
48–7
Otago

Auckland

Canterbury

Manawatu

2005 Queenstown
Auckland
42–12
Northland

Wellington

Otago

Manawatu
2006 Queenstown
Auckland
43–12
Wellington

Bay of Plenty

Southland

Canterbury
2007 Queenstown
Auckland
36–17
Canterbury

Counties Manukau

Wellington

Northland
2008
Details
Queenstown
Auckland
24–15
Counties Manukau

Manawatu

Wellington

Tasman
2009
Details
Queenstown
North Harbour
29–26
Counties Manukau

Wellington

Otago

Southland
2010 Queenstown
Waikato
21–14
Bay of Plenty

North Harbour

Horowhenua-Kapiti
2011 Queenstown
Auckland
36–26
Taranaki

North Harbour

Manawatu

Canterbury
2012 Queenstown
Auckland
36–24
Otago

Taranaki

Tasman

Bay of Plenty
2013
Details
Queenstown
Taranaki
32–17
North Harbour

Auckland

Hawke's Bay

Counties Manukau

2014 onwards

The tournament moved from Queenstown to Rotorua in 2014 for five seasons. A switch from playing in January to December coincided with the event moving to Tauranga for the 2018–19 season.

Year Venue Cup final Placings Ref
Winner Score Runner-up Semi-fi nalists
2014
Details
Rotorua
Wellington
26–19
Auckland

Taranaki

Northland
2015 Rotorua
Waikato
38–19
Wellington

Counties Manukau

Bay of Plenty
2016 Rotorua
Counties Manukau
54–14
North Harbour

Wellington

Bay of Plenty
2017 Rotorua
Counties Manukau
14–7
Waikato

Taranaki

Wellington
2018 Rotorua
Waikato
21–17
Tasman

Wellington

Taranaki
2018–19 Tauranga
Tasman
12–7
Counties Manukau

Wellington

North Harbour

2019 Tauranga
Waikato
31–5
Auckland

Taranaki

Bay of Plenty

2020 Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic

Women's tournament

Women's teams initially competed at the National Sevens from 1998 through to 2002. After a ten-season absence, the women's tournament was reintroduced for the 2013 National Sevens held in Queenstown, with Manawatu earning the title. The tournament then moved to Rotorua in 2014 for five seasons. A switch from playing in January to December coincided with the event moving to Tauranga for the 2018–19 season.

1998–2002

Year Venue Champion
1998 Rotorua Auckland
1999 Palmerston North Wellington
2000 Palmerston North Wellington
2001 Palmerston North Auckland
2002 Palmerston North Canterbury

2013 onwards

Year Venue Cup final Placings Ref
Winner Score Runner-up Semi-fi nalists
2013 Queenstown
Manawatu
36–17
Waikato

Auckland
?
2014 Rotorua
Manawatu
19–12
Auckland

Counties Manukau

Waikato
Winner Score Runner-up Third Fourth
2015 Rotorua
Auckland
29–14
Manawatu

Waikato

Bay of Plenty
2016 Rotorua
Manawatu
16–19
Wellington

Counties Manukau

Canterbury
2017 Rotorua
Counties Manukau
24–17
Manawatu

Auckland

Waikato
2018 Rotorua
Manawatu
17–15
Waikato

Auckland

Counties Manukau
2018–19 Tauranga
Manawatu
12–7
Waikato

Auckland

Bay of Plenty

2019 Tauranga
Counties Manukau
12–5
Waikato

Auckland

Bay of Plenty

2020 Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic

This page was last updated at 2023-10-09 19:27 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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