It's a record that may never be broken, a dominance that will probably never be repeated. New Zealand's iron-like grip on world Sevens was finally prised open at the weekend when South Africa beat them to win the Fairmont Home Adelaide Sevens, the scene of New Zealand's last loss a year ago.

Prior to the Adelaide final, Gordon Tietjens' New Zealanders had gone an incredible 47 matches unbeaten, shattering the previous record for consecutive wins of 34 held by Tietjens' side in 2001/02.

We look back on a winning streak that began in Europe last season, when the kiwis overhauled Fiji in a dramatic season finale to win back the IRB Sevens World Series, and continued on through over half of the 2007/08 Series to all but tie up their overall defence.   
 
London, England 2007

Fiji led Samoa by 10 points in the series and New Zealand by 14 with only two events remaining but 11 tries from Afeleke Pelenise helped them beat the Fijians in London to make things interesting going into the Edinburgh event.
 
1 New Zealand 43 - 10  Kenya
2 New Zealand 48 - 0  Italy
3 New Zealand 43 - 7  Scotland
4 QF New Zealand 14 - 0  South Africa
5 SF New Zealand 19 - 0  Samoa
6 Final Fiji 7 - 29  New Zealand

Edinburgh, Scotland 2007

Fiji's fate was still in their own hands, but a loss against Wales opened the door for the kiwis, who pounced with an emphatic win against Samoa to seal a remarkable series win in the very last match of the season.
 
7 New Zealand 33 - 7  Argentina
8 New Zealand 43 - 7  Georgia
9 New Zealand 38 - 0  England
10 QF New Zealand 19 - 12  South Africa
11 SF Wales 0 - 28  New Zealand
12 Final New Zealand 34 - 5  Samoa

Dubai, UAE 2007

New Zealand seized control of the 2007/08 Series with a first win at the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens since 2002.
 
13 New Zealand 41 - 5  Scotland
14 New Zealand 64 - 0  Arabian Gulf
15 New Zealand 21 - 19  France
16 QF New Zealand 40 - 7  Argentina
17 SF New Zealand 12 - 7  South Africa
18 Final New Zealand 31 - 21  Fiji

George, South Africa 2007

The kiwis maintained their perfect start to the season with another defeat of Fiji to retain the Emirates Airline South Africa Sevens.
  
19 New Zealand 19 - 0  Kenya
20 New Zealand 41 - 0  Zimbabwe
21 New Zealand 26 - 24  England
22 QF New Zealand 36 - 0  USA
23 SF New Zealand 38 - 14  Argentina
24 Final New Zealand 34 - 7  Fiji

Wellington, NZ 2008

Victor Vito scored two tries in the final against Samoa in front of a delirious home crowd as they won back their home title for the first time since 2005.
  
25 New Zealand 43 - 0  Canada
26 New Zealand 41 - 0  Papua New Guinea
27 New Zealand 19 - 7  Samoa
28 QF New Zealand 40 - 5  Wales
29 SF New Zealand 32 - 7  Australia
30 Final New Zealand 22 - 17  Samoa

San Diego, USA 2008

San Diego was South Africa's first Cup final of the season but New Zealand won a nervy final at PETCO Park to take a massive 32-point lead in the Series. In beating Kenya to reach the final the kiwis also eclipsed their own six year old record of 34 successive victories.
 
31 New Zealand 19 - 0  Wales
32 New Zealand 39 - 0  France
33 New Zealand 27 - 0  Scotland
34 QF New Zealand 28 - 5  Fiji
35 SF New Zealand 50 - 10  Kenya
36 Final New Zealand 27 - 12  South Africa

Hong Kong 2008

The one they wanted perhaps more than any other, no kiwi side had won in Hong Kong since 2001 but DJ Forbes, Steven Yates and Tomasi Cama were outstanding as they chalked up their seventh consecutive title. Forty-two matches unbeaten.
   
37 New Zealand 50 - 5  Chinese Taipei
38 New Zealand 38 - 0  Tunisia
39 New Zealand 47 - 7  USA
40 QF New Zealand 26 - 7  Wales
41 SF New Zealand 34 - 0  Fiji
42 Final New Zealand 26 - 12  South Africa

Adelaide, Australia 2008

Another final in Adelaide, the winning streak stretched to 47 matches, but the wins over Argentina, Tonga and Fiji all went down to the wire and took their toll. Two tries by Fabian Juries in the final and one by 19 year-old Robert Ebersohn were enough to take a prized first Cup trophy of the season for the Boks of South Africa.
 
43 New Zealand 21 - 14  Argentina
44 New Zealand 33 - 7  Cook Islands
45 New Zealand 38 - 10  Scotland
46 QF New Zealand 19 - 14  Tonga
47 SF New Zealand 17 - 14  Fiji

Final New Zealand 7 - 15  South Africa