Stadium ready to rumble: Your guide to the Sevens

Maria Mills is ready for the Bayleys National Sevens.

Six months of planning will be rolled out into one weekend of rugby sevens next weekend as Rotorua International Stadium plays host to its busiest rugby event to date.

The Bayleys National Sevens will feature more than 40 games of quick-fire sevens across two days and on two fields with teams from up and down the country.

"The field is in perfect condition, it will be stunning," said operations manager Maria Mills who is preparing the stadium to be able to entertain some 5000 people each day.

This coming week the field will be painted with tournament artwork and the field markings. They are the final touches to what has been a mammoth effort, similar to an ITM Cup round but on a much grander scale - why host two teams when 26 will do?

With Raggamuffin just three weeks later the stadium crew have been doubling up on some things to make sure both events go without a hitch.

"It's worked out quite well," Mrs Mills said.

"We can look at both events and see what infrastructure is needed and put it in place for the whole of January."

She said catering orders were being made at the same time with separate delivery dates and things such as portable cabins required for security would be able to be used for both events.

The catering is one major aspect, with an estimated 5000 people a day expected to walk through the gates there needs to be some food on offer. The catering order includes 400kg of chips, 3000 hot dogs and 2500 burger patties, although people are able to bring in their own food and drinks - small quantities of non-commercial food, such as sandwiches and fruit will be allowed into the stadium and there will be free water top-ups.

If you do bring food and drink, make sure you bring them in a soft cooler bag as hard chilly bins are prohibited. Other prohibited items are cans, glass objects, video cameras and offensive weapons.

There will also be a liquor ban in place outside the stadium from 4pm Friday, January 10, to 4pm Monday, January 13.

"The sevens is a bit more special than an ITM Cup game because of the length of each game and how many matches we will get to see," Mrs Mills said.

"It will be a full-on two days. There will be games going on on both fields and we're having a kids' area on the embankment at the scoreboard end. That will be self-contained," Mrs Mills said.

Final details were yet to be decided but there could be bouncy castles and waterslides.
Bay of Plenty Rugby Union chief executive Mike Rogers said as well as the players there would be many others involved in the tournament.

With the 26 teams there is a team liaison manager for each. There will also be 24 ball boys used in the tournament and 14 mascots. There are 336 players taking to the field and they will occupy 220 hotel rooms in the city. Mr Rogers said they would be ferried around in 52 minivans and 22 tents will be pitched at the stadium.

To reach the final, the Bay of Plenty team will have to play five matches, including three pool games and finish in the top two. They must then win a quarter-final and semifinal.

Rugby numbers

Balls - 6
Water bottles - 500
Bay of Plenty socks - 30 pairs
Kit changes - 2
Liniment - 10 x 1 litre tubs per team
Strapping tape - 20 rolls per team

Catering by the numbers

400kg chips
3000 hot dogs
2500 burger patties
5000 bottles of soft drink

The lowdown

Gates open 11.30am
Play from 12pm to 8pm
Each match is seven minutes
Five minutes break between matches
Pass outs available
Children $5 (Under 5s free)
Adults $15
Family $35
All seating is general admission, including the grandstand.
Walk-ins at Stadium Gates 2 & 3.
There are no age limits on the children attending, however they must have caregivers with them.
Parking at Westbrook Fields and Ray Boord Park.