Bula 7s Cup and Plate Finals decided in sudden death extra time

The Wellington Fijian Flyers score the winning try in sudden death extra time in today’s fourth annual Bula 7s tournament.

• By Steven White.
• Photos by Andy McArthur.

Could the start of the 2025 rugby year get any more exciting?

Both the Plate and Cup finals at the fourth annual Bula 7s tournament this afternoon at William Jones Park went to sudden death extra time.

The Plate final between the Wardens team and Nasinu was locked at 19-19 at the end of regulation time, before Nasinu (representing Wairarapa-Bush) scored from their first attacking play of the sudden death period to win 24-19.

The Cup final was between the Wellington Fijian Flyers and the visiting Waikato Fijians and saw the teams all square at 24-24 at fulltime before the Flyers scored in the far corner to win the game 29-24.

In both games, winning chances went begging by the losing side.

In the case of the Plate decider, the Wardens were awarded a penalty in the dying stages of regulation time, but the dropped goal penalty attempt was shanked under the bar and it remained 19-19 as they went into extra time and lost.

In the Cup final, it was Waikato that looked to have broken through for the try early in the extra time period, but their final transfer in front of the clubrooms corner was called back for a forward pass.

The winning tries in both games are below (full tournament replay via Huddy Sports at the bottom):

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Wellington’s David Tokalautawa was the Player of the Tournament.

Tokalautawa scored two tries in the final, including the winning score in sudden death extra time with a kick and chase – as seen above.

The Wellington Flyers lived up to their nickname early in the Cup final, scoring twice early and racing to a 12-0 lead. Waikato came back, but the Flyers were in again to lead 19-7 at halftime. Esi Komaisavai scored one of is specials to advance the lead to 12-12, but Waikato came back with two tries to lock it up.

Nasinu made an even hotter start in the Plate final, scoring three tries to lead 19-0. The Wardens pulled one back just before halftime, then scored twice more to lock it up at the end.

The Bowl final was more one-sided, with Hawke’s Bay Fijians beating Lomaiviti 26-0. They led 14-0 at halfime and doubled their try tally in the second spell to take the spoils.

The Cup semi-finals had seen The Waikato Fijians beat Rotorua team Fire Alarm 19-7, while the Fijian Flyers defeated the Mid-South Canterbury Brothers 26-10.

Play was sizzling all day on a warm afternoon at William Jones Park.

Defending champions Duavata were in trouble early and bowed out at the Bowl semi-final stage to the Hawke’s Bay team.

The tournament was well run and an electric buzz prevailed around the ground all day.

More results are below:

Watch the full day’s play on replay on demand at Huddy Sports: