Live blog: Wellington Sevens

BY MICHAEL FOX

Stuff's Michael Fox is at Westpac Stadium covering all the costumes, the colour and the action of the NZI Wellington Sevens. he's also tweeting here: http://twitter.com/Michael_Foxnz

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Send your photos from the NZI Sevens 2010 to yourpics@stuff.co.nz

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9.45pm: Fiji are all over the Aussies. Up 17 nil at the half.

The music is proving a mass crowd-mood manipulater. As soon as it comes on, everyone comes to life. Never mind the rugby. Currently 'Twist and Shout' by The Beatles.

9.40pm: England over Kenya 24-10 in a game marred by a brutal-looking tackle on one of the Kenyans. He managed to flip over and land on his head - it looked pretty impressive in slow-mo.

Fiji and Aussie are preparing for kick-off in what should be a good game. If the crowd are watching, judging by their response to each team in the Parade of Nations, Fiji will have some vocal support.

New Zealand are warming up for their game, the final of the night, against arch-rivals South Africa at 9.56pm. Make sure you're somewhere to watch it as it's shaping up as a big encounter.

Also, what a score by the Black Caps. I realise it was against Bangladesh but I wish I'd been able to watch it. They were 336-9 if you didn't know. And it was in my home town. (Just finished off Bangladesh to win by 146 runs).

The crowd is definitely more sedate than earlier in the day.

9.23pm: Someone in the crowd just managed to scone one of the Aussies with a jandal. He'll be stoked as it was a stunning throw but his mate won't be as I assume he didn't throw his own. #goodmate

9.05pm: The crowd is really going crazy after the impressive Parade of Nations which featured each of the teams, a medley of crowd-pleasing songs punctuated by fireworks, Pacific dancers and stilt walkers. Those things are dangerous.

The biggest cheers were reserved for Fiji and Kenya, along with New Zealand while the resounding boos went Australia, England, France and South Africa's way.

Samoa and Argentina drew short straws and were warming up while it was on.

Songs included (they might not be the correct titles but you'll get the drift) Eagle Rock, Summer of 69, Fat Bottom Girls by Queen and the Macarena. It always amuses me when Summer of 69 comes on. Everyone professes to hate it but it never fails to get people singing along.

But nothing came close to Thriller, with 35,000 fans erupting when it started. The hit prompted a scream, a sing-along and several hundred ill-advised attempts at the Thriller dance. As one player from the USA, who I didn't recognise and who didn't have time to chat reckoned, it was "amazing".

Another highlight was one of the more aggressive streaks seen around here for a while. The big, half-naked unit, jumped the fence but was caught by security. He fought bravely but eventually succumbed to the police. We won't be seeing him back here for a while. 

7.50pm: There it is - "Why does love do this to me" by the Exponents. Crowd loving it. Remarkable discipline from the DJ to that crowd pleaser until this late.

Scotland up 15 - 5 against PNG. Wales v Niue to come then it's the Parade of Nations.

The Mexican Wave is still struggling to get going.

7.33pm: I just saw the pic we have in the gallery of the streaker getting hammered - Gold. The Aussie looks like he's about to put a hit on him too. Have a nosey if you haven't already.

The Eastern side of the stadium is still basking in the sun and I'd say there will be some serious cases of sunburn tommorrow. Especially for the Wellingtonians who've had a rubbish summer. Though I should be careful - I'm already on @wellingtonweathergod's list of people that "probably need smiting".

The dance floor out on the concourse it proving popular also.

7.23pm: Rupert Thomson, pictured with friends Brett Bradshaw and Kurt Portas, had put together a costume made of wool from his own farm. And he stinks. He smells like a shearing shed and loves it.

"100 percent New Zealand wool," he tells me. There's a market for it, he assures me.

In other news, the guys who made the Dominion Post's front page earlier this week for their original chilly-bin costumes had them taken off them at the gates. They were too big, according the guys at the gates and one member of the party, Joe Fiu, said they were pretty gutted.

On the rugby front, Canada just beat France 21 - 19 prompting some pretty jubilant scenes from the young team. The crowd seemed to appreciate it in between takes of "Bliss" and "Thunderstruck".

6:26pm: Save Tokula finishes off a New Zealand rout with a big individual effort. Full time: NZ 49 Niue 5.

6:22pm: The sunny side of the stadium's the party side. Coincidence? Surely not. They'll be drinking plenty to cope with this heat. NZ in again through Mikkelson. He's having a blinder. Nafi Tuitavake's scored too.

6:18pm: NZ lead 21-5 at half time.

6:16pm: New Zealand hit back through a double to Tim Mikkelson. The crowd is seriously loud. The players must love is. AC/DC is blaring.

6:12pm: NZ got another roar as they ran out on to the field, but Niue scored first.

It's still a mint day and the party looks to be getting into full swing.

6:02pm: Streaker!!! The crowd is going crazy for the first streaker of the night, who was stopped at midfield by a security guard.

5:52pm: While I haven't spotted the Cougars of Air New Zealand fame, who my boss wants me to interview, one bloke dressed as a bumble bee found his own. Emboldened by the booze, I think, he brazenly approached a group of women, much older than him, and dropped this pearler of a pick up line: "[Expletive deleted], youse are sexy." Needless to say he was ignored.
 
During that sojourn on the concourse, I also spotted the first person I've seen kicked out, being escorted out by police. He wasn't putting up much of a fight. Also, a manhunt was going on at the northern end of the ground - it sounded like someone had been caught urinating where they shouldn't and several police officers were looking for him. I think he may have fled the scene of the crime, however.
 
There were also several dickheads - and I'm not being offensive. They had male appendages literally attached to their foreheads.
 
Also at 5.20 was the first 'Colonel' chant of the night. Probably the first of many.

Other notable costumes include Tom Naylor and Dave Downs from Wellington who dressed up as Na'vi from Avatar. I expected to see a few more of these but haven't as-yet.

New Zealand have just run out to warm up ahead of their second game of the night. They take on Niue at 6.08.

5:38pm: Recent results: England 24 Tonga 19, Kenya 24 USA 7. Fiji all over Papua New Guinea at the moment, halftime score: Fiji 17 PNG 0.

5:05pm: For a golfer with a reportedly volatile temper, John Daly took the confiscation of his favourite putter remarkably well.

"It's all good," he said. "I didn't think I'd get it in anyway. I just thought I'd try it on."

Daly, AKA Dan Miller of Upper Hutt, said he was here for reasons other than golf. "It's good man, primo, heaps of hotties."

Out on the concourse, which seems to be where the main party is at, dodgeball looks to have become a serious event. There are some fierce looks on the faces of the lads in the Titahi Bay singlets.

The friendly rivalry between different groups is well lubricated by now.

The Jizz Kids, dressed as sperm, just attacked a group on Monsignors, who accused them of being sinners.

There's a few people looking worse for wear now, but no disasters that I've witnessed.

Of the costumes, the Pirates of the Caribbean look impressive as does the Marmite jar, while the speedo cops look under dressed. Togs, togs, togs.

4:41pm: There's a new vid you can click off the left hand side, or here: Fans arrive at the Sevens. Here's the fashion vid again too (check the dancing Frankensteins): Dominion Post Fashion in the Field.

On-field update: Argentina beat France 17-5.

4:32pm: It's starting to get to that time of the day when the crowd noise rises, the music blares and the crowd sings along. Funny how everyone thinks they can sing when they're drunk.

Either that or they just don't care what they sound like.
 
The stadium still has a lot of empty seats. Time for a walk around the concourse to see what's going on.
 
France and Argentina are currently level at 5-a-piece.

4:31pm: Willie Lose - Sky commentator and radio host (currently dressed like an Arab) - thinks the greatest challenge to NZ will be the Saffas. Please let him be wrong.
 
He said Fiji and South Africa are often strong on the first day but can fade on the second, but the South Africans were going to be tough.
 
"I actually think they're the team that will win the tournament because they've got great forwards and they've got so much gas."
 
"I hope I'm wrong," he added. Agreed.
 
He was impressed by the Kiwis effort though, and impressed by the day too.
 
"I keep saying that it can't get better but it just continues to."

BTW Samoa beat Canada 27-14.

4:17pm: Been speaking to a couple of the players. Stowers was sweating up a storm after playing in the wicked heat.

"The atmosphere was outstanding," he said."It's not even half full and it's still roaring. I'd hate to think what it's like at 10 o'clock."

He said he felt the team had played at about 95 percent. "Hopefully we turn it up for the next game."

He was stoked with his two tries.

Brackin Karauria-Henry, a Kiwi who now plays for Australia, also enjoyed his debut.

"It was good to run out in front of the family," he said.

It'd be nice of he was playing for us.

A note to self - don't stand too close to those flame throwers. I was five metres away and feeling the heat.

3:52pm: Here's Stuff's New Zealand v Wales match report and wrap of the early action.

3:41pm: New Zealand player Kurt Baker was happy with his first half performance. "the boys are pretty happy. Usually the first game is a bit messy but our defence was good. We thought we were pretty clinical."

He reckons he's loving being in Wellington and enjoying the buzz from the crowd. "It's pretty awesome. I wouldn't change it for the world."

3:31pm: Full time: NZ 29 - Wales 5.

3:28pm: DJ Forbes scored New Zealand's fourth try before taking a well-earned rest and allowing newcomer Fritz lee on the field.

Wales have just hit back with their own try near the post. Score: NZ 22 - Wales 5. It's hot.

3:22pm: Ben Souness scored late in the first half. New Zealand 17 - Wales 0 at half time. Stowers can tackle too.

3:18pm: New Zealand a short time ago ran out to a screaming ovation from the crowd, whose attention is now largely on the rugby.

The crowd noise rises and falls as NZ get half chances.

Sherwin Stowers got their crowd on their feet when he went over in the corner, and got the crowd going again with a huge tackle right in front of me. Wow, another try from Stowers just now. 10-0 NZ. He's living up to his billing as an attacking force and is proving to be a crowd favourite.

2:54pm: Ivan Love, a security guard down on the field, is a bit of a hard case.
 
He reckons it's been pretty sweet so far - the crowd is still reasonably well behaved - unlike last week at AC/DC which was "more ruckus".
 
"I did the AC/DC concert last week - that was interesting."
 
The Sevens sounds like a sweet gig for security guards.
 
"It's just a day. I'm just hoping no one fights or anything."

He's a big dude so it might pay to listen, too.
 
Meanwhile, Fiji just cleaned Scotland up, 36 - 5 (for more score updates check out this link).
 
New Zealand are also warming up for their match against Wales, who beat them last year. They look ready to go and will run out in front of a burgeoning crowd.
 
Other notable costumes so far include Super Troopers (wearing the world's tightest pants), Rocky Balboas, Rastas and Cavemen.

2:36pm: The NZI lifeguards are providing the growing crowd on the concourse with some spectacular entertainment.

their breakdancing moves have included backspins and no-handed flips.

One of the most original costumes I've seen so far is from a group of guys dressed in cammo with T-shirts that say "Where's Willie" on the front with "shh ... it's a secret" on the back.

The crowd's streaming in now.

Kenya beat Tonga 15-7.

2:24pm: On the costume front we've got some Usain Bolts, complete with body paint and Jamaican olympic uniforms, some folks who were en route to Pamplona but ended up here,  Xenas, care bears, and Egyptian Pharoahs.

There'sa climbing wall out front which is cool. Let's be sensible about it though - if you can't walk straight, you won't be able to climb. Seriously.

2:22pm: Got a video of Fashion in the Field up now, link's on the left.

2:15pm: Chris Brightwell, England's new Kiwi, was stoked with his first outing at Westpac. After watching Invictus yesterday he reckons he was ready to go.

"I was thinking about it all night."

He was happy with the team's performance, a big 31-5 win over USA and expected things to get better from here.

On another note, the biggest cheer so far has been for a lady on the big screen in a bikini.

2:01pm: Even in it's tenth year it's impressive to see people can still come up with new costume ideas.

Linda Leslie and friends from Kaiwaka and Wellsford have strung hundredsof Speights bottlecaps together which hang like dreadlocks from their wide-brimmed hats. They took 10 days to make.

I asked if it had taken hat long to drink them. Linda  said: "We've been working on it."

They've declared their eligibility with a banner reading: "8 speights m8s lookin' 4 d8s."

BTW I don't think it's any coincidence there's a bit of a police presence around the Reg Reagan crew.

1:52pm: Reg Reagan and the NSW State of Origin team are already on form, bellowing Swing Low Sweet Chariot in turn with chanting USA! Not sure they even know who they're supporting.

1:50pm: The crowd is finding its voice now, getting right in behind Canada.

Scotty "Sumo" Stevenson is a hard case as those of you who have seen him on Sky will know. He appears to enjoy the sevens.

"What can I say? I'm dressed as a giant vegetable. That says it all doesn't it."

Having been the only expert pick to get on NZ last year - they lost in the final - he was reasonably confident they'll rectify that this year. Challengers would be Fiji and Samoa.

England are now up against the USA. England have an ex-Wellingtonian and product of Napier Men's High School in their midst in Chris Brightwell. Represent.

[Comments now turned on. Bit of an oversight before, sorry. Have a say!]

1:41pm: Just spoke to TV commentator Tony "TJ" Johnson. He said he was confident New Zealand would have a win.

He said Sherwin Stowers would provide the spark out wide, but forward Ben Souness was the "unsung hero".

He joked former sevens representative Karl Te Nana's physique had turned to custard in his post-playing days, and he needed to get back under coach Gordon Tietjens' influence.

"The problem I've got at the moment keeping Karl Te Nana under control because he's got this gladiator uniform that he can hardly fit into."

Canada just thrashed Argentina 26-7. The final score in the opener was Samoa 29-France 19. And in other rugby news, Aussie flaker George Smith has announced his retirement from test rugby.

1:18pm: France were leading earlier in the second half, but Samoa have come back at them. 29-19 at the moment. Just FYI - here are some interesting tid-bits from the player profiles in the Sevens programme:
 
Nafi Tuitavake would be a tax driver if he wasn't playing footy.
 
Ben Souness and Kurt Baker appear to have a special relationship. Souness' "pet hate" is when Kurt Baker walks around nude and Baker's is when Souness tells him to put his clothes on.

DJ Forbe's is all about the action - his favourite movies are "Pumping Iron or anything with Bruce Lee or Arnie in it".
 
Tomasi Cama is a pragmatist - He can't live without: "Food and water."

Zar Lawrence's favourite books are Asterix and Obelix. I used to love those.

1:15pm: The spot prize in the Fashion in the Field went to the Frankensteins by the way. They won a stint in the NZI Lounge where they'll get free booze and food.
 
And it's off - the footy - the second reason everyone comes to the Sevens, with France and Samoa now going for it.

12:55pm: The stadium is still almost bare with kick off just minutes away. Samoa is warming up - not that it will take much in this heat - down in front of the press box. Press ups, boxing and wind sprints.

The French are over on the far side – I wonder if they've had a strict warning from the French Rugby Union not to beat each other up while they're here.

Caterers in the beer and food stalls are looking bored but they should be making the most of the down-time as they'll be run off their feet later on.
 
Kiwi fans will be pleased to know their team are heavily favoured having won the first two tournaments this year. Players seem quietly confident and focussed ahead of the tournament.

12:35pm: And the winner is... Morris West as Frankenurter, who took the prize over the Olympic Ballet team in second, and Chantelle Eden as a tree in third.

Chantelle said the inspiration for her costume had come on a visit to the botanical gardens with her boyfriend.

"He said 'Hey, why don't you go as a tree', so I said, 'okay, I'll go as a tree'."

Mr West, a diehard Sevens and Fashion in the Field regular, was stoked with his prize, celebrating with an encore performance of the Timewarp.

"This should have won it every year," he said. "I'm absolutely rapt. I got a lot of people saying last year that I should have won it, but we finally got some good judges this year."

The judges said they wanted to reward his perseverance.

"He's been every year and he does the same thing and we just wanted to give him something," one of the judges said.

The crowd is now starting to file into the Westpac Stadium on a glorious Wellington day. Those not interested so much in the rugby will be pleased to know the stage and dodge ball court are back on the concourse.

12:12pm: This year's crop of costumed sevens statement-makers have shown their wares at The Dominion Post Fashion in the Field.

Among the costume highlights at a boisterous event outside Wellington railway station were a team of Frankensteins, sevens regular Frankenfurter, a tree, a Captain Planet group and Crusty the Clown.

Frankenfurter, otherwise known as Morris West, is the crowd favourite thus far, with a stirling performance of Let's do the Time Warp, while the Frankensteins proved the dead do know how to dance.

AC/DC's Angus Young made an appearance, drawing a mild rebuke from the MC for using obscene language, before performing a world class air guitar routine.

While authorities have warned that pitch invaders won't be tolerated in the stadium, the same doesn't go for the fashion stage.

The Captain Planets, teamed with last year's winners as Flash Gordon, felt the wrath of Predator, and were  relegated to foot of the stage.

11:22am: Welcome back to the mayhem that is the Wellington Sevens. The capital's turned on the weather and it's set to last the weekend, so we could be in for a classic.

As we did last year, we'll be bringing you live coverage from Westpac Stadium of the carnage and the collisions, the winners and the write-offs.

For those that read last year, welcome back – I hope to hear from a few more of those stuck overseas without a way of watching the action. To newcomers, welcome to you also.

Love it or hate it there's no denying it's a marquee event on the country's social and sporting calendar, from the rugby, for those who turn up with their families, to the festivities for those who turn up liquored.

Every year throws up some surprises, with the tournament's past winners including Fiji, Australia, South Africa, Samoa, England and New Zealand.

You can bet some people will turn up with fake guns which will be confiscated, others will be thrown out, some will be carried out and others will wake up on Sunday and struggle to pay the bills.

In spite of that, it's a hell of a party and a good chance to show off your creativity and see New Zealand's perennial-contender seven's team in action.

Enjoy the day.

A bit of info on the NZI Sevens to get you started:

The first game is 1pm where traditional crowd favourites Samoa will take on the often-not-so-popular French.

New Zealand are up at:
3:12pm vs. Wales
6:08pm vs. Niue
9:56pm vs. South Africa

The Parade of Nations is always popular and kicks off at 8.20pm tonight.

As an early heads-up, the finals are tomorrow at:
Shield Final 7.30pm
Bowl Final 8pm
Plate Final 8.30pm
Cup Final 9pm

The pools:

Pool A
New Zealand
South Africa
Wales
Niue

Pool B
Fiji
Australia
Scotland
Papua New Guinea

Pool C
England
Kenya
USA
Tonga

Pool D
Samoa
Argentina
France
Canada