NEW ZEALAND – The Wellington sevens are officially in jeopardy. New Zealand Rugby has acknowledged that the tournament may not survive in the capital, with executive member Nigel Cass saying there were just 20,000 for the latest tournament at Westpac Stadium.

A continuation of that level would mean the tournament was no longer viable.

“We just have to sit down over the next couple of weeks and say ‘that number of people at the event is not good enough, what do we need to do? What do we need to change? How do we encourage people who didn’t go to go and have a good time like the people who did go?”

Cass will not rule out anything – including shifting the tournament out of New Zealand – when a decision is made in late March.

NZR has two years left on the three-year licence. World Rugby gives New Zealand the hosting rights, and NZR recommends which city the tournament should be held in.

The 34,500 capacity Westpac Stadium was a sellout in the tournament’s heyday.

Stand-in All Black Sevens coach Scott Waldrom said the Wellington Sevens turn-out was disappointing and he couldn’t believe how small the event had become.

“To see it now is mind-boggling to understand how it’s declined so rapidly. There’s certainly going to be a lot of hard questions after this and I’m sure World Rugby will be asking ‘what’s the plan going forward’.

“It’s really sad. A lot of people are complaining about it and saying it used to be fun but I just don’t understand what’s really happening.”

One of the world’s greatest sevens players has spoken of his sadness over the apparent demise of the Wellington tournament.

Two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist and six-time World Sevens series champion Eric Rush said the Wellington event used to be the highlight of the international sevens calendar.

“It would be a sad day if it did go, but maybe that’s a call World Rugby have got to make.”

Rush’s comments follow similar sentiments expressed by leading sports administrator Martin Snedden in recent days.

Snedden, who was the driving force behind New Zealand’s successful hosting of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, said the Wellington event had “reached the end of its life-cycle”.

He urged organisers to assess whether the capital was the best place to host the New Zealand leg when they carried out their review of this weekend’s event.

Tournament organiser Steve Dunbar remains positive, as he had been before the tournament when low ticket sales were already being reported.

“We had to make a decision after the 2014 tournament, going back in time is not an option for us,” Dunbar said.

“For the tournament to move forward, it needs to change. We know the 20,000 people over the two days had a really good time, and that’s a good thing.

“The atmosphere was not at the height of five or ten years ago but it was still good all the same.”

Rush felt moving the event to another city might be a solution, but Auckland was not a viable option as it was “a rugby league city now”.

Dunedin, which has the country’s only covered stadium, has previously expressed an interest in hosting it. A Dunedin Venues Management spokeswoman said that, if hosting the tournament was an option, it would look at it. - PNC sources