Rugby: Victorious All Blacks Sevens face tough test in Vegas

NZ moved to second place in the Sevens World Series after winning the Wellington Sevens. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand have been dealt a tough pool for this weekend's Sevens World Series tournament in Las Vegas.

Fresh off their victory in Wellington on Saturday night, New Zealand were due to depart for the US today and they're grouped with Fiji, Samoa and Wales at the three-day event in the gambling mecca.

It's the toughest group of the tournament and all of the Pool A combatants, except Wales, have won the US stop in the world series previously.

Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas is a narrow field, which suits the physical play of the Samoans, while they also have strong support from the travelling Pacific community.

Fiji, third on the overall standings in the series behind New Zealand, will be smarting after they were knocked out in the quarter-finals in Wellington.

"Sevens is a pretty fickle game," New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens said. "You look at that pool, we've got to get up for all of those games. It's going to be tough going to Vegas."

New Zealand's victory in Wellington, sealed with a 27-21 triumph over England in the final, helped them move to second in the overall standings behind South Africa.

Finishing inside the top four this season is vital as it provides direct entry to next year's Rio Olympics where sevens will make its debut.

"We'd love to win the series and we've got to continue from here," Tietjens said after Saturday's final. "We know the next tournament will be really tough."

After playing in the US, the series takes a short break before tournaments in Hong Kong and Japan in late March and early April respectively. The nine-leg circuit wraps up in May with the final events in Scotland and England.

New Zealand's win in Wellington was perhaps the most impressive of their eight titles in the capital given they were forced to play with so many youngsters.

They lost veteran Tim Mikkelson in the build-up with a groin injury, while skipper DJ Forbes missed the 17-7 semifinal win over South Africa and the final because of a foot complaint.

"It would be probably one of the highlights of my career," Tietjens said of the victory.

With their experienced players on the shelf, New Zealand were led by Joe Webber, Scott Curry and Sam Dickson, while debutant Rieko Ioane was superb. The 17-year-old bagged two tries in the final after he needed a dispensation to play.

Ioane looks a player of true talent and Tietjens said he would like to have him at his disposal for the rest of the series.