
New Zealand players celebrate their victory in the inaugural Canada Sevens by performing the haka.

New Zealand ran out 19-15 winners in a tightly-contested final against South Africa.

Hosted in Vancouver's BC Place Stadium, official reports said 95% of tickets had sold out a month before the event took place, with a total of 60,418 fans attending over the weekend.

Rugby union superstar Bryan Habana featured for the runners-up, although U.S. speedster Carlin Isles was absent as he competed in an athletics meet in Portland as he attempts to resurrect his sprinting career.

New Zealand's victory means they now sit only two points behind Fiji at the top of the Sevens World Series standings.