In America, if a football game involves a naked penis, there's an uproar and people get a $10 refund. In New Zealand, that's just part of the preparation for the NZI Rugby Sevens Tournament, which will be held in Wellington this weekend.

Positively Wellington Tourism's New Zealand events co-ordinator, Nicole Retter, partially dressed up a naked statue to promote the rugby event.

The statue, which stands on the waterfront, "was given a cape, sailor hat, Hawaiian lei, a bucket and spade and a rubber duck. It also sported a 'We Love Wellington' T-shirt but no pants."

Because really, who needs pants for rugby?

Retter said, "We will be changing or adding to their costumes every day in the lead-up to the NZI Sevens, depending on what state of undress we find them in due to the weather or other external forces."

Officials are warning fans not to use the statue as a model for the stadium dress code, as "stadium rules state costumes 'must conform to reasonable standards of decency', ruling out nudity or near-nudity."

We'll see what Evan Stone and Tristan Kingsley have to say about that.

Nothing's safe from sevens fever [Stuff.co.nz]