Teen star Etene shows his class in Hamilton
On the evidence of day one, safe to say the sevens is back. Not Wellington heyday back, but certainly back from the brink.
No event is ever perfect from the get-go, and many teething problems reared their head in Hamilton’s first dig at hosting.
Punters were forced to wait in long queues first to get into Waikato Stadium for the start of play, then to top up electronic bracelets used to pay for food and drink, with no cash or cards accepted inside, and finally for drinks themselves.
Sometimes technology is unnecessary. This system is also another way to further clip the ticket, with each patron forced to pay an extra $4 before buying anything. Easy extra revenue, it would seem.
Despite the weekend selling out, with 24,000 tickets said to be purchased for each of the two days, the stands were never full. That is largely the way with this event here, especially with bars and dance floors stationed out the back of stands.
Like it or not, New Zealand’s leg of the sevens has never been solely about the rugby. In truth, for the vast majority, it is a party. Take that away and, as Wellington found out, the event will die.
On the whole, it was great to witness a return to the colourful festivities that once made the capital one of the best stops on the circuit.
The crowd and atmosphere built as the day progressed, with everyone from Hugh Hefner to the Teletubbies generally in good spirits after organisers went to mid-strength beers — somewhat prematurely — at 2pm.
Live music — a mental band of course in the Tron — and a DJ entertained during breaks in play.
And as party goers belted out Buffalo Soldier in the fading sun, the sevens revival was near complete.
The final piece of the puzzle, of course, came from the largely impressive New Zealand team. Sure they stumbled in last weekend’s quarter-finals, and must yet repeat yesterday’s efforts in the knockout matches, but this team appears to have turned a corner under Scotsman Clark Laidlaw.
The ease with which they strolled past France 52-17 and Scotland 24-5 was no fluke. As fatigue set in for their final match, New Zealand fell off too many tackles and had to show character and composure to come from behind to overhaul Argentina 17-12 in the dying stages.
This team is superbly led by captains Scott Curry and Tim Mikkelson. Playmaker Vilimoni Koroi is a magician with ball in hand. And, in his second tournament, 18-year-old prodigy Etene Nanai-Seturo showed with two superb right foot steps and one audacious bump-off just what a talent he is.
“He’s got some good footwork but what people don’t see is the counter ruck at the end which potentially won us the game,” Laidlaw said of the youngster’s effort against Argentina. “He’s working hard and fitting in really well. With everything going on, he’s doing really well.”
New Zealand should take confidence into their quarter-final, having knocked over England in the three previous tournaments this year. Fiji and South Africa, the two other winning teams on day one, look the major threats.
“Argentina had a lot of ball and caused us problems and England are the same but we feel we’ve got some options in attack that can stress them,” said Laidlaw.