2001 Wellington Sevens
The 2001 Wellington Sevens, also known as the 2001 New Zealand Sevens, was an international rugby sevens tournament that was held in Wellington, New Zealand as the third leg of the 2000–01 World Sevens Series. The tournament took place at the Westpac Stadium on 9–10 February 2001. The hosts, New Zealand, lost their first match of the season as they were defeated 19–17 by defending Wellington Sevens champions Fiji in the Cup quarterfinals. This was only the second time that a New Zealand sevens side had failed to reach the Cup final of World Sevens Series event . This was also the first event to hold a Shield competition which was won by Japan who defeated Papua New Guinea 27-19 in the final. Australia became only the third nation to win a World Sevens Series title as they defeated Fiji 19–17 in the Cup final. Format. The teams were drawn into four pools of four teams each. Each team played the other teams in their pool once, with 3 points awarded for a win, 2 points for a draw, and 1 point for a loss (no points awarded for a forfeit). The pool stage was played on  the first day of the tournament. The top two teams from each pool advanced to the Cup/Plate brackets. The bottom two teams from each group went to the Bowl/Shield brackets. Teams. The 16 participating teams for the tournament: Niue was invited to replaced France after they withdrew from the tournament due to French clubs not releasing players. Series standings. At the completion of Round 3: