Fantastic NZ Sevens! Part 1

Over the past two days I attended the IRB Sevens at The Westpac Stadium.

For those of you not familiar with Sevens - The tournament is played under the laws of the game of rugby with some Sevens variations which are framed by the IRB. The 16 teams are split into 4 pools. Play on the first day of the tournament consists of pool matches on a round robin basis. Points are awarded for wins, losses and draws and go towards each team's final points tabulation. Each team is made up of 12 players; seven on the field during the match, with a reserve bench of five. Each game runs for 2 x 7 minute halves with a 2 minute half time; the final game of the tournament is 2 x 10 minute halves.The winner of the New Zealand leg wins the local tournament trophy.





The fun started on Feb 1st, where we went down to Civic Square to watch the Seven's parade and welcome all the 16 teams to the Capital.

The hot favourites were the Kiwi lads, and the Fijians. The entrance of the Kenyans was very exciting - they had Kenyan drummers. There were salsa dancers before the Argentineans. Portugal also got a warm welcome, as it was their first visit to the Wellington Sevens. My observation of the PNG team was that they had a lot of abnormally short players. The Samoans looked buff. Actually, all the Polynesian players looked good, but the Tongan team looked GREAT!



I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I was a Seven's novice. I had heard fantastic things about it, with friends commenting that it is a huge fun party with a great atmosphere.


Nothing prepared me for how fun it was. The stadium was packed with about 30,000 people.


I think I was one of the only people in the stadium not dressed up. People went all out. Rob and his mates had some cool matching t'shirts.


It made me realize how much I love Kiwi's party attitude and how they really get into things. The crowd was singing, everyone was smiling, people were dancing and everyone was cheering or boo - ing for the Australians - and cheering for anyone they played. It was fantastic.



It was fun to watch these skilled rugby players play well. The Kiwi team was disappointing, we got whipped by Fiji - who were really amazing - and fast!

In a surprise Samoa beat South Africa in the semi's so it was a Samoa-Fiji final. It was a surprise and the crowd went wild.

My family was split - Fiji Supporters were Rob (my brother in law) JJ and Simi(my nephews) and Jonah (Fijian cousin). Samoa supporters were me, Dad and Matile (sister). The crowd was crazy - chanting Fiji-Samoa simultaneously. Both flags flew proudly. Secretly, I thought Samoa was outclassed because Fiji had been playing so superbly through the competition. They were amazingly fast runners - and once they got the ball wide and started running with it, they were unstoppable. Despite this, Samoa played a physical game and were unyielding.



Samoa won! It was an awesome game. The final score - Samoa 17 - Fiji 14.


I am now planning my costume for next years Sevens competition.

Life isn't all ha ha he he....

Ok, so I am a slacker.

But I had such a funny experience today I decided to just write something. When I stop being so cheap and fork out some cash and buy the cord I need for my camera - you will get pic updates of my adventures thus far.

It started out like any other Sunday. However, today I decided that I would be a good girl and attend the Single Adults Sunday School class. For the past couple of weeks I have just attended Gospel Doctrine, but I found out Friday night that I actually have a specific class to go to. My friend WJ had inferred that sitting in the foyer was more stimulating than going to class....He was right.

My teacher was over 60 years old. My class was an eclectic mix of those in their early 30's, 40's, the divorcees, and well those with one foot in the grave. I sound so critical and rude, but as I sat in class today I really felt weird as the cruel realization hit, that I was now in a church programme where the age span was 30 years - 100 years. I mean it. One elderly gentleman in my class has been what I consider an elderly gentleman since I was in primary. Now, in a sick twist of date oops I mean fate, I am in the same boat as he is. Single and well between the age of 30 - 100 years. I just laughed inside. Then I got a little annoyed. Then I felt a little bitter and later remarked to the Bishop - "you know attending a class like that makes you want to go less active". I tried to be upbeat but I ended up being contradictory (I remarked I would feel depressed if I had been blessed to live forever like one of the Apostles because all my friends would die every couple of years - the general consensus was that it would feel great) and then initiated a discussion on why I thought 8 was too young to be baptized. I left the class with a smile on my face though - because I possibly could be asked on a date by someone who is older than my parents. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA

As a side note - my records arrived from Taiwan in speedy time. It took less than a week. Jason Chen you must already have had the envelope signed and sealed. So I have a new assignment. I am the early morning seminary teacher. I have a possible attendance of about 25 kids. Although I taught and managed larger classes in Taiwan -I am feeling a little anxious. First because my class starts at 7am. 7am! And Kiwi kids can speak English......really well. They can say mean things. Today as I walked around the chapel and hunted kids down to introduce myself all of them were taller than me - and I was wearing high high heels! I am starting to get really excited though. It is a fantastic way to ensure that I study the gospel daily - and I loved seminary. A lot of gospel truths were solidified for me during my youth years - and I am excited to be part of that with others. So, it should be an interesting year for me.

I am also doing double duty church. Matile and Rob and their kids attend the Samoan Ward, so I attend with them and volunteer in Primary. Today I ran sharing time - it was fun. But to keep them in line I wrote their names on the board and gave them X's if they talked without raising their hand - classic Taiwan teacher reflex.

Overall, it is good to be home. I am adjusting remarkably well. I am happy to be here. Though I am missing hearing Chinese spoken everywhere, Jona, Lie Chie dumplings and my scooter............