Wellington Rugby Football Union

Ardie Savea to make New Zealand Sevens debut

Monday, 30 January 2012 03:22

New Zealand Sevens Coach Gordon Tietjens has named two new caps in his New Zealand Sevens side to compete at the Hertz Sevens in Wellington this weekend.

Wellington's 18-year-old Ardie Savea, the younger brother of Hurricane and former New Zealand Sevens player Julian Savea, will make his New Zealand Sevens debut in his home town.

Hawke's Bay's Mark Jackman will also don the New Zealand jersey for the first time. Jackman hails from Canterbury and is a product of the Christchurch Boys High School rugby fraternity.

Highlander and All Black Hosea Gear has also been selected to play in the tournament, after making himself available for selection for the Wellington leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series.

Tietjens said picking the side was challenging.

"All the players have really stepped it up a notch in the past few days and trained really well making this a very difficult team to pick.

"We love the support we get here in Wellington and this tournament is always one of the highlights on the HSBC Sevens World Series but this also makes it one of the toughest to win," he said.

2012 New Zealand Sevens Squad:

Wellington Boys Savea and Raikabula in NZ Sevens Squad

Thursday, 26 January 2012 05:52

New Zealand Sevens Coach Gordon Tietjens has named four new caps in his 2012 national contracted squad of 15 who are preparing for next weekend’s Hertz Sevens tournament in Wellington.

Wellington’s 18-year-old Ardie Savea, the younger brother of Hurricane and former New Zealand Sevens player Julian Savea, has been named in Tietjens’ squad for the first time. Savea was nominated for the New Zealand Rugby Union Age Grade Player of the Year at last year’s Steinlager Rugby Awards and he also captained the New Zealand Schools side in the same year.

Other new caps include Hawke’s Bay’s Mark Jackman, Taranaki’s Waisake Naholo and 19-year-old Lolagi Visina from Auckland.

The squad includes plenty of experience with senior players Lote Raikabula, captain DJ Forbes and playmaker Tomasi Cama all heading into their seventh season with the side. 

Titejens said his squad had a good mix of youth and experience.

“DJ, Lote and Tomasi have played in over 40 tournaments and there are quite a few players in this squad that travelled to every tournament in the Series last year which gives them invaluable experience to pass down to the younger players.

“There are some young players in this squad showing great promise which bodes well for the future as we head towards the 2016 Olympics,” he said.

Meanwhile, new Highlander and All Blacks winger Hosea Gear will join the New Zealand Sevens squad in Wellington on Friday. Gear has made himself available for selection for the Hertz Sevens and will be released by the Highlanders for the tournament should he be selected.

The New Zealand Sevens team will be holding a public training session at Porirua Park this Saturday 28 January at 10.00am. Members of the public are invited along to view the training session and players will be available to meet and greet fans.

2012 New Zealand Sevens Squad

Go4Gold Women's Sevens

Thursday, 26 January 2012 03:10

The New Zealand Rugby Union has launched its search for their next Olympic hopefuls as part of the Go4Gold Women's Sevens Programme.

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Position Vacant: Commercial Manager

Sunday, 22 January 2012 20:51

• Sponsorship Focus
• Commercial Nous
• Relationship Management

Wellington Rugby seeks an experienced Commercial Manager to lead the growth of sponsorship relationships and other commercial opportunities for both Wellington Rugby and the Hurricanes during a challenging and exciting time.

Reporting to the Chief Executive, the successful candidate will have strong experience of developing, securing and managing sponsorship properties that deliver great value for sponsor partners.  Your strong commercial experience will be of value in identifying, assessing and growing a diverse range of commercial opportunities from match hospitality to licensed products and events.

Exceptional team leadership, organisational and contract negotiation skills are essential for this role, which leads a small but dynamic team. Strong marketing skills are an asset given the importance of exceeding our sponsors expectations by value delivered in the market. A results orientation to achievement of revenue targets is a given.

This is an outstanding opportunity to make a significant contribution to the commercial future of Wellington and Hurricanes Rugby.

Applicants should forward their CV and covering letter to Louise Hamerton, PO Box 7201, Wellington South 6242 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

For a copy of the job description or other enquiry please contact Louise Hamerton on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Applications close on Wednesday 1 February at 5.00pm.

Wellington at the National Sevens in Queenstown

Monday, 09 January 2012 01:20

The Wellington Sevens side took part in the National Sevens competition in Queenstown in the weekend. On day one Wellington faced Waikato, Counties and Northland in pool play before heading into the Championship round playoffs on day two after qualifying second in their pool.

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