Bula 7s tournament at William Jones Park on Saturday

Supporters starved of action over the festive season will get their rugby fix all day at William Jones Park on Saturday.

The fifth annual Bula 7s tournament has drawn a bumper 16-team field to kick-start the year in rugby, but being on one field means that it is scheduled to go into the evening hours with 37 matches scheduled.

The Wellington Flyers and Lomaiviti kick off the day’s play at 7.30am, with 24 round-robin matches followed by the knockout stages and the Cup final set to kick-off at 7.30pm.

Other teams participating across four teams are: Bula Bay, Whanganui Fijians, Waikato Fijians, Marlborough Fijians, Bumble Bees, Havelock North, Rotorua Fijians, Gisborne Kaiviti Brothers, Kacau Gau, Waikato Penguins, Wellington Axemen, Veitokani Brothers, Nasinu Pasifika and BLK St John’s.

The tournament returns to William Jones Park for the second time, after previously been hosted at Porirua Park.

Last year saw a thrilling finish with the Wellington Fijians beating Waikato Fijians 29-24 in extra-time in the Cup final after the teams were locked up 24-24 after 14 minutes. The Plate decider saw Wairarapa side Nasinu beat the Wardens team 24-19 in extra-time after it was 19-19 at the end of two halves.

Difficult late spring weather in Wellington has softened up fields and greened up the surrounds, but Wellington Anniversary is traditionally the start of summer in the region so rugby will run hot if the sun comes out.

The Wellington Rugby Referees Association will be on the whistle all day.

Coverage

The official Bula 7s tournament Facebook page is here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100067954157745

The tournament is being live-streamed all day by Huddy Sports. Bookmark their channel here:

Look out for Club Rugby’s still and moving images and written coverage post-tournament, on this website or on a timeline near you. Our Facebook page is here: https://www.facebook.com/NZClubRugby Our Instagram page is here: https://www.instagram.com/clubrugby

Draw

The teams and draw (all subject to change on the day) for the 2026 Bula Fiji 7s tournament is below.