Dubai: New Zealand, the winners of last year’s inaugural IRB Women’s Sevens World Series, will look to get their title defence off to a solid start in Dubai this weekend.
The Kiwis won three events in last season’s four-stage series, including the opener in Dubai, before going on to claim their first World Cup title with a 29-12 win over Canada in Russia in June.
They will look to replicate that form again this year as the new-look five-stage series kicks off in the UAE from Thursday. But All Blacks coach Sean Horan admits that other teams may have redoubled their efforts since they last met.
“We had a fantastic first season on the circuit and the break after the World Cup has been good,” he said. “Players have come into our preparation camp in great nick and everyone is looking forward to the season.
“We know that other teams will have gone away after the World Cup and worked quite hard, so we are expecting them to come out hard in Dubai.”
Australia pose perhaps the biggest threat to New Zealand’s dominance, having beaten them in the inaugural World Cup in Dubai in 2009.
However, the Wallabies only finished fifth in last year’s world series, having reached the semi-finals in the Dubai opener. They also finished fifth at the World Cup.
But, after beating New Zealand to the Pacific Women’s Championship last month, Wallabies captain Sharni Williams believes her team are capable of mounting a comeback.
“We’re on the up and looking to do better than last year [when they lost the third place play-off to Spain] and I’m sure we will,” she said.
Wallabies coach Tim Walsh added: “The first round of a world series is always an eye opener. New players, coaches, referees, teams and opportunities all result in an exciting battle on and off the field.”
