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Overview
This rugby ball displays 12 signatures of players who participated in the Fijian rugby Sevens team during the Wellington leg of the IRB (International Rugby Board) international tournament of 2012.
Background
The IRB sevens tournament is an annual circuit of rugby seven tournaments that started with the 1999-2000 season. Teams collect competition points at various tournaments located around the world and these points culminate at the end of the circuit to crown a champion. While the format of this tournament is fairly recent, individual rugby sevens tournaments have existed for much longer. The Hong Kong sevens, considered the premier tournament of this competition formed in 1976 and is credited with transporting rugby into a world of commercial sponsorship.
Significance
Known worldwide as the “Flying Fijians” with the ability to change the fortunes of a game in the blink of an eye, Fiji’s rugby players demonstrate their skill and prowess on the sevens rugby field and are synonymous with world class sevens rugby. Fiji's performances at sevens tournaments have been ground breaking for a country of its size and resources. Fiji holds the records for the most wins at the Hong Kong tournament winning the title multiple times. In 2005-2006, Fiji were the first country to break New Zealand's winning streak and win the overall IRB season title since its introduction.
Fiji rugby has marketed themselves around their success, and for small Pacific nations whose principal sport is rugby, they have demonstrated the success that rugby can achieve for the on a world class level. Sevens rugby in Fiji has cultivated players such as Waisale Serevi and William Ryder who have become sporting heroes and icons of their sport not just in Fiji but in world rugby. Fijian players have demonstrated their ability and mastery of the game to such a degree that it has given them opportunities to play for some of the top teams in the world as professional rugby players.
This ball is representative of the influence that Fiji has within rugby world sevens as well as a reflection of the professional nature of rugby in its modern form. Digicel™, a large telecommunications company in the Pacific, uses the success of Fiji and Waisale Serevi for marketing and branding. The Digicel™ brand is marked prominently on this ball. This highlights the significance and influence of sponsorship in the current professional era of sevens rugby and rugby union overall.
Materials and Construction
The ball is made of synthetic rubber; the surface of the ball is dimpled for added grip. The ball is made from four panels that are machine stitched together. Each panel has been decorated in the colours of the sponsor Digicel™, they alternate between red on white and white on red.
Acquisition history
This ball was donated to Te Papa by Makerita Urale. She acquired it from the Fiji team during a street parade for the opening of the 2012 Rugby Sevens tournament in Wellington, New Zealand.
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