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4 August 2002
More Gold for New Zealand rugby at the Commonwealth Games
This time at Manchester with Gordon Tietjens as coach and Eric Rush as captain New Zealand wins the sevens final beating Fiji 33-25.

BALL BOYS/GIRLS

A vital part of the rugby game in New Zealand and Australia, but not always used in other parts of the rugby world. It used to be that the job of retrieving the ball for players in a game once the ball had crossed the touchline was a solely masculine prerogative. This is not now the case. Often girls do the job equally as well.

 The ball boy’s or ball girl’s role is to field balls quickly when they cross the sidelines so as to get the game restarted without delay. It is a duty much vied for by young rugby people who relish the opportunity to take part in a big occasion, and to watch their heroes close up.

The Italian rugby team on 5 July in 1980. They played in Auckland v New Zealand then crossed the international date line before playing a Cook Islands team technically also on July 5.