The Fiji rugby sevens coach Ben Ryan says World Rugby should take note that the Wellington tournament and others may have burst their bubble as far as fan support is concerned.
Rugby Sevens, Wellington. Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski
Just over 20,000 tickets were sold for this weekend's Wellington tournament at the 34 thousand capacity Westpac Stadium.
Every tournament from 2002 until 2012 was sold out.
Englishman Ryan says you could see the Wellington tournament was about to hit the skids as it became too much of a party with excessive drinking, while the rugby support dwindled.
Sevens fans at Westpac Stadium. Photo: RNZ
Ryan says he feels the organisers just expected the goose to continue to lay the golden eggs, but now they have to really look at the event.
He says London could get to a similar situation and so the World Series has to look seriously at the tournaments and make sure events aren't just based on the party with more emphasis on the rugby.
