Organisers of the Hertz Sevens have apologised in person to Samoan team management following an unfortunate incident when a pitch invader reached a player in the final game of day one of the tournament.
Hertz Sevens General Manager, Steve Walters stated. "We take this breach of security extremely seriously. Itis not acceptable to put players in that position.
We regret the incident and are disappointed that one person's actions detracted from an otherwise good first day. The offender has been charged with assault."
"Wellington has built a reputation for hosting international sporting events and this mindless act jeopardises the tournament's world class standing."
The organisers and security have reviewed their field management and will boost their on-field presence with an extra 20 security staff for day two. Walters continued, "We are committed to doing everything possible to prevent any further breaches of player safety."
Police were otherwise happy with crowd behaviour at Westpac Stadium. With a total attendance of 31,500 spectators they only arrested eight and evicted 28 from the venue.
This is in comparison to 16 arrests and 76 evictions from the Stadium on the first day in 2011.
Police Operations Commander Inspector Simon Perry said the crowd today was one of the better behaved crowds with one of the lowest arrest counts.
The pitch invader was removed from the stadium and he has already been issued with a trespass notice banning him from the Stadium for two years.
