KEY POINTS:
While the All Blacks seek to end their year on a dominant note this weekend, the New Zealand Sevens rugby team will have similar intentions when their season begins in Dubai.
Despite fielding his usual clutch of newcomers, Gordon Tietjens' team will be favourites when the 10th International Rugby Board sevens series kicks off in the Middle Eastern oasis on Friday.
Eight-time series winners New Zealand produced their most emphatic campaign yet in 2007/08, winning the first five of eight tournaments - starting at Dubai - helping carry them to a remarkable 47-match record winning streak.
Tietjens stressed that his side were raw and relatively under-prepared so the tournament opener against Wales should be illuminating. Their other pool games are against Zimbabwe and Australia.
Captain DJ Forbes - fresh from winning the IRB sevens player of the year award - will be a key figure, along with proven sevens performers Lote Raikabula, Tomasi Cama and Zar Lawrence.
With Nigel Hunt and Edwin Cocker ruled out with injury and Tietjens losing his usual chunk of the previous year's group to Super 14 contracts, there is a new culture to build and patterns to mould.
"We're starting a week earlier this year, so we could be a little underdone," Tietjens said from Dubai.
"I've got a lot of young players and you're venturing into the unknown, you don't know what a lot of the other teams are about.
"We won't really get any of the answers until the tournament is played.
"To be good at sevens you have to play sevens. The odd one of my guys has played the odd club tournament but we're at international level now."
The four rookies are all aged 21 or under - Manawatu's Kurt Baker, Otago's Paul Grant, Counties Manukau's Tim Nanai-Williams and Wellington schoolboy Julian Savea.
Tietjens was excited by their progress during a short, intense buildup in New Zealand, making special mention of Savea, 18.
"Julian looks very exciting but this is new ground for him. He's probably never been as fit as he is now and he's got huge potential."
New Zealand were to play a practice match today against the United States at the newly-built Sevens Stadium, the 45,000-seat venue which will host the sevens World Cup in March.
Tickets are sold out this weekend, giving Tietjens and his players a valuable experience 3-1/2 months out from the season's biggest tournament.
The World Cup on March 5-7 falls between the fourth and fifth round of the IRB series.
The second of eight rounds will be played at George, South Africa next week.
New Zealand squad
DJ Forbes (Counties Manukau, captain), Kurt Baker (Manawatu), Tomasi Cama (Manawatu), Solomon King (Bay of Plenty), Zar Lawrence (Bay of Plenty), Tim Mikkelson (Waikato), Lote Raikabula (Manawatu), Willie Rickards (Southland), Julian Savea (Wellington), Nafi Tuitavake (North Harbour), Paul Grant (Otago), Tim Nanai-Williams (Counties Manukau)
Pools:
Pool A: New Zealand, Australia, Wales, Zimbabwe
Pool B: South Africa, Kenya, Scotland, Arabian Gulf
Pool C: Samoa, Argentina, France, Georgia
Pool D: Fiji, England, United States, Portugal
- NZPA
