2016 is in full swing and with it comes the lift in intensity and the refining of performance all done with the desire to peak at the right time and claim the first ever Sevens gold medal up for grabs come the Rio Olympic Games in August.
The Wellington Sevens leg of the World Sevens Series is the first of 2016 and New Zealand Sevens Coach Sir Gordon Tietjens believes the occasion of an Olympic year has inspired the players to step it up a notch.
For a lot of rugby purists out there, they want to see the likes of Sonny-Bill Williams, Ardie Savea, Ben Lam and Akira Ioane available, Tietjens said.
They are just really hungry and really physical our game is about physicality to be fair and when we are physical I believe we play well."
Having qualified for the Olympic Games in May 2015, the New Zealand Sevens Men have had a raft of injuries to deal with, especially in the leadership area with former captain DJ Forbes and his successor Scott Curry still on the sideline.
Tietjens praised the way in which his team, with many new combinations, came together for a great overall performance.
What I really liked about today is that they shared the workload, there was always impact when they came off the bench they played with a lot of heart.
Some of the lungs out there for some of those new guys new to sevens, or havent played sevens for a long time were screaming but theyve got big tickers.
To finish like that against a very good South African team was really pleasing.
The first day of the Wellington Sevens is now finished with New Zealand going through to play Kenya in the Quarter-Finals on Day 2. Tune into SKY Sport at 1.02pm to watch LIVE.
For all results: http://www.sevens.co.nz/
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