Sport Rugby union No. of teams 16 Most recent
champion(s) Counties Manukau | Founded 1975 Country New Zealand | |
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The New Zealand National Rugby Sevens Tournament (for sponsorship reasons also known as the Pub Charity NZ Rugby Sevens tournament) is an annual rugby sevens tournament held in Queenstown, New Zealand. Each year it features the best sixteen teams in the country competing over two days.
Contents
The tournament is promoted by Sevens with Altitude, working in association with the Otago Rugby Football Union and the New Zealand Rugby Union.
History
The New Zealand National Rugby Sevens Tournament 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. The tournament has been held in Queenstown since 2004, before this Palmerston North hosted the event.
2009 is the first tournament where the entire event has been screened live by Sky TV.
The event also serves as an opportunity for players to be selected for the New Zealand Sevens side, as the squad is selected shortly after the event.
Format
The sixteen teams 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 tournament was first held in Auckland in 1975. Since then it has been held at Christchurch, Blenheim, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Feilding, Pukekohe, Rotorua and since 2004 it has been held at the Queenstown Recreation Ground, which is usually the home of the Wakatipu Rugby Club.
Participants
The following teams have participated in the tournament: