Wellington club sevens series underway on Saturday

The wait is almost over.

It’s a later than usual start to sevens rugby in Wellington this season as the 2025 American Ambassador’s series kicks off at Mary Crowther Park on Saturday morning.

Like last year, this is the first leg of two, with the six-team women’s tournament taking place on Mary Crowther 1 and the 12-team men’s opening round tournament being played on the parallel numbers 2 and 3 fields.

Like last year, the two weekends of American Ambassador’s tournaments are actually one tournament but played over two Saturdays.

Saturday’s action kicks off at 9.00am and continues through to the final set of matches that conclude at 2.30pm.

Everyone packs up and goes home and returns to continue next Saturday for the second and final leg at an unconfirmed venue.

The men will be playing for the trophy that bears the tournament’s name, while the women contest the Eleanor Roosevelt Cup.

More details on the image below:

11 of Wellington’s 14 Premier clubs, plus Stokes Valley, line up on Saturday with Pōneke, Johnsonville and last year’s runners-ups the Upper Hutt Rams staying in their hatches for this one.

The men’s teams are:  Avalon, Hutt Old Boys Marist, Marist St Pat’s, Northern United, Old Boys University, Oriental-Rongotai, Paremata-Plimmerton, Petone, Stokes Valley, Tawa, Wainuiomata and Wellington.

Paremata-Plimmerton are the two-time defending champions, and they and the Axemen will have the jump on their rivals by virtue of them having competed in last Saturday’s Feilding Blitz tournament. Paremara-Plimmerton won that, although they and the Axemen both fielded a smattering of guest players and the rules there are much tighter as this is an official union event. Paremata-Plimmerton were also without Esi Komaisavai and Louis Northcott and expected to be sans those two players on Saturday.

They also go into this year’s Wellington series as the defending National champions and will be hosting the National Club Sevens Tournament at its usual slot on the rugby calendar in the first weekend of February.

The Petone Ponies are the two-time defending Women’s champions, and they head a six-team competition that features four other Wellington clubs and a visiting Manawatu side.

Manawatu’s 7UP side will add extra fizz to the tournament but aren’t eligible to win the trophy should they win.

Petone will be expected to be pushed close for the title by Northern United, Oriental-Rongotai, the Old Boys University Impalas and the Wellington Axewomen.

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Draw Online

Saturday’s draw is in the link below:

https://xplorer.rugby/american-ambassador-7

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Teams and Schedule