In Wellington this Waintangi day weekend, it was New Zealand’s turn to host our leg of the International Sevens Series. Day one saw victories over Argentina, Scotland, Papua New Guinea in the group stage without really moving out of first gear.
On the Saturday for day two wins came against Wales 26-5 and Australia 17-0, before facing England in the finals. That was a repeat of the last stage of the series in South Africa and the 2009 tournament in Wellington, the result was the same, a win for New Zealand!
The star for New Zealand this weekend was certainly Declan O’Donnell, who few people outside of Waikato may of known of prior to this season. He picked up a hat-trick in the final. Other players seen in the boots include; Bryce Heem, Declan O’Donnell, David Raikuna, Buxton Popoalii and Tomasi Cama whose yellow card against Australia in the Semi-Finals could have cost the team, but excellent defence whilst he was off the field kept the Aussies out.
What were the red boots?
A few of the New Zealand players were seen wearing bright red adidas boots this Waitangi weekend. They were, for those wondering, the new adidas adiZero RS7. Designed as a rugby version of the F50 football boots, they are said to be the lightest rugby boots adidas have ever made. Perfect for Sevens rugby, they certainly did the trick in Wellington this weekend.