New Zealand scored nine tries in their opening win over Mexico. Photosport
Live updates of the Rugby Sevens World Cup in San Francisco.
The goal for New Zealand heading into the Rugby World Cup Sevens is clear: defend the titles they won in Moscow four years ago.
Both the All Blacks and Black Ferns sevens sides arrived in San Francisco as defending World Cup champions, Commonwealth Games gold medallists, and with an eye on creating history – no one has managed to defend their titles in the history of the tournament.
Speaking ahead of their first game tomorrow, All Blacks co-captain Tim Mikkelson – who was named player of the tournament at the 2013 World Cup – said defending their title was very much on their minds.
"Going back-to-back is something we've talked about. We want this team to create its own history and legacy," said Mikkelson.
"There are so many teams that could win and it will be the team that can execute under pressure; you have to play every game like it's a final in this knock-out format, so we need to step up and do the business.
"We've been preparing really well. We have a great group of guys in our team who have worked extremely hard and hopefully if we play well across four games, we'll get the title again."
OPINION: There are three key reasons to believe that they can.