For those lucky enough to have secured tickets for the NZI Sevens, the tournament is reason enough to be in Wellington over the coming days. For those without, there are still plenty of reasons to make the trip according to Chief Sevens commentator Nigel Starmer-Smith.
 
1. Welcome to Wellington

The capital city - and a capital weekend! Wellington, what a place. Set amidst a beautiful landscape of rolling hills, from the Karori Sanctuary to the Kapiti Coast, the city sits within a large-scale natural ampitheatre built on several levels that stretch from the inter-island ferry terminals, the Beehive building of Parliament and the 'cake tin', or Westpac Stadium - focal point of this weekend's rugby festival - to the vibrant waterfront, bustling carnival atmosphere of Courtenay Place and that oasis of urban tranquility the Botanical Gardens, reached by the funicular railway that rises up from Lambton Quay.
 
2. The Westpac Stadium

The Westpac Stadium is the atmospheric oval setting for as noisy a rugby occasion that exists. The City comes to a halt and the rugby takes over for this 48-hour festival, set to become a week long carnival in years to come. And all held around the traditional celebration of Waitangi Day, commemorating the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between the British Crown and the Maori Chiefs on February 6th, 1840. The tickets for the Sevens are like gold dust - this year the 35,000 capacity was sold out in minutes.
 
And noisiest of all is the 'Red Zone', the vast enclosure behind one of the goalposts, where fancy dress is 'de rigeur': girls, cross-dressing 'gents', fairy-queens, nurses, Roman soldiers and royalty, they're all there. Even (unfortunately!) the odd Ali-G lookalike... in 'Mankini'!

3. The Parade

The tradition has built up over the years and the Annual Grand Parade stops the traffic every year and brings out the lunch time crowds on the Thursday. A mile-long cavalcade of floats, with a wagon for each of the 16 teams. There's even one for the referees with their white sticks! And all interspersed with bands and troupes of dancing girls.

4. The Stadium entertainment

Wellington, like all the big international Sevens events, enjoys more than just the rugby. The stadium rocks in the intervals between the action to the DJ-driven music and the inevitable crowd participation of the favourite pop groups and annual favourite tracks. Kiwi group Evermore are a favourite of mine, so too 'Hey-Yah' of Outkast, and 'I Get Knocked Down' by Chumbawumba! There are, too, the spectacular displays by the massed ranks of schoolchildren in aerobic-type routines, guest celebrity singers on the big screens and, in amongst the spectators the inevitable Austin Powers impersonator. At least, I think he's an impersonator...
 
5. And then there's the rugby..

Given that it's New Zealand who are on their home patch, the Kings of the IRB Sevens World Series for eight of the past nine seasons, you might be surprised to know that Wellington has proved one of the least predictable tournaments thoughout the history of the Series. In the last nine years there have been five different Cup winners, eight different Cup finalists, 11 different Cup semi finalists (including USA and Cook Islands) and three different Cup winners in the last three years (NZ, Fiji, Samoa).

New Zealand beat Samoa in the 2008 final, but who were the two losing semi-finalists? ....... Wrong! Tonga and Australia!
 
6. Every year a new Star is born

Or so it seems! From three years ago and the 2006 event who will ever forget the top try-scorer Koiatu Koiatu of the Cook Islands. Now 31 and scorer then of eight tries, five more in 2007 and if he makes it again it'll be his fifth Wellington, perhaps alongside another renowned NZ-based player Rangi Vallance, cousin of Tafai Ioasa.

In 2007 Samoa won their first ever title here in Wellington. With captain Uale Mai out of the final against Fiji through injury, young Lolo Lui stepped up with Mikaele Pesamino and Ofisa Treviranus to take charge. Scorer of all 14 points in the semi final win over South Africa, Lui then dominated the scene and an unbelievable drop goal built a 17-nil lead in the final match. Back came Fiji but samoa hung on and hung on, 17-14 at the final whistle.

In 2008 it was the turn of a 20 year-old, fresh out of the junior ranks in New Zealand, a 17 stone-plus, 6 foot 3 number 8, converted to become a reincarnation of Jonah Lomu! On the wing! Victor Vito, an instant Sevens star, took the stadium and the Cup Final by storm scoring - amongst others - the winning try. No surprise that within weeks he had been lured away to the Super 14.
 
7. The South Pacific bruisers

One of the joys of the Wellington Sevens is the inclusion of some of rugby's South Pacific outposts, and once again what a thrill lies in store as Tonga, the Cook Islands and Niue rejoin the fray.

Wellington has been the shop window over many seasons for Tonga. They won the Plate Final versus Kenya back in 2004 (having beaten South Africa in the pool rounds and Samoa in the Plate semis), were in the Bowl Final in 2005 and 2007 and won the Shield in 2006. Best of all, though, was their Cup semi final just last year. Given their limited exposure on the international circuit, it was a phenomenal performance in 2008 with a win over Argentina in the Cup quarters and defeat by a whisker - 21-24 - against the reigning champions at the time, Samoa. So if the likes of Kailea, Kaufusi, Poteki, Latu and Veikune are still around, don't take anything for granted!

As for the Cooks, they too have a proud record at the NZI Sevens with wins over Canada, Portugal, USA and Kenya in the last few years. But best of all (and I'd better say it quietly) was their victorylast year in the opening game of the Pool. And, like Tonga, their proudest day remains a semi final place here, achieved in 2001. Not bad for this cluster of 15 little islands, most of whose players now ply their rugby trade in New Zealand. Let's hope the irrepressible Koiatu is in Wellington once again!

Niue may be one of rugby's minnows and the world's smallest self-governing state but, like their fellow islanders, they have built up quite a rugby reputation in their adopted home. In their last appearance in 2006 they took both Scotland and France to the wire before losing to Tonga. Let's hope Vincent Pihigia is at the Westpac once again, the player who has scored 11 of their all-time total of 45 tries in the Wellington event!