Kiwis geared up for Cup defence

Talk of World Cup tournaments in July sends the mind to Russia and the pinnacle of football, but not for a select group of sevens rugby players.

New Zealand yesterday announced their men’s and women’s squads for the Sevens World Cup in San Francisco, with strong squads named by their respective coaches.

While all eyes have been on Russia for the World Cup that needs no introduction, the sevens tournament is a little more niche. There is no doubt, however, that the events in Russia have them excited for what’s ahead, including a new knockout format.

‘‘It’s a more ruthless format,’’ New Zealand men’s co-captain Tim Mikkelson said. ‘‘You’ve got to execute from the first game.’’

The format for the Sevens World Cup is simple. It’s a straight knockout. Fourteen minutes of average sevens and your team could be flying home early, wondering what could have been.

Both sides have been preparing hard for the tournament, with particularly tough training camps. The women’s team had a gruelling trial match Monday which left a number of players limping from the field after heavy collisions.

Usually, phones are banned in certain team areas, but given the amount of physio required lately, Ruby Tui admitted the players have had their phones out, watching the football World Cup unfold. It’s the knockout drama the players have loved, and it’s what they’re heading to in the United States.

‘‘We’ve got a lot of confidence,’’ New Zealand women’s captain Sarah Goss said. ‘‘Obviously our trial games were really tough and the last couple of weeks have been extremely tough on the whole squad. We’ve got 12 [going to the World Cup], but we have a lot of girls who missed out.

‘‘To have four come back from 2013 is hugely exciting. I hope all of these girls have great experiences like we did back then.’’

Goss is joined by Portia Woodman, Kelly Brazier and Tyla Nathan-Wong from the team that won the World Cup in 2013, at the same stadium that will host the football World Cup final next week.

Men’s coach Clark Laidlaw said the unique nature of the knockout competition contributed to it being a difficult squad to select.

‘‘Getting the balance of the squad right was the main thing. It’s a different tournament in that its four games instead of six and we can only take 12 players, so we were looking to have flexibility in the 12 in terms of the positions they cover,’’ he said.

‘‘No team has ever won back to back World Cup titles, so we have certainly talked about that and about being the first team to change that. We know there are massive challenges to come, all the teams will be well prepared.’’

The men’s first game will be on July 21, at 3:31pm (NZ time) against the winner of Russia and Hong Kong’s match, while while the women play Mexico on July 21, at 6:50am (NZ time).