After finishing top of their group, New Zealand went on to defend their title defeating first-time cup finalists Samoa 19–17.

In the plate final, Australia defeated Fiji 57–0 while the African teams in Namibia and Kenya won the bowl and the newly created shield competition.

The pool stage was played on the first day of the tournament.

[2] Arabian Gulf made their first appearance in the IRB Sevens World Series as they were one of the 16 participating teams for the tournament: The pool stage was played on the first day of the tournament.

The top two teams in each pool advanced to the Cup quarterfinals to compete for the 2001 Durban Sevens title.