Dressing up Rugby

New Zealand International Sevens general manager Steve Walters estimates the competition, now in its 1th year, brought in close to $18 million for Wellington in February. And that doesn’t include the benefits to the surrounding region. Wellington is one of eight legs on the global seven-a-side tournament’s annual calendar that includes stops in Hong Kong and Dubai. For most people, it’s not the game that attracts them to the capital city for the two-day event — it is the party. Walters said in the past, only about 1 per cent of patrons donned costumes. Today, those who spurn the fad are now in the minority. About 95 per cent of the sell-out crowd of 35, dressed up in costume, and each year the costumes become more extreme. This year at the tournament, there were foam-suited Gingerbread Men, a rubber-clad Frankenstein, plenty of spandex and Lycra and characters from local and global movies. Two friends even turned themselves into flashing railway crossing signs.