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DUBAI, UAE, October 19, 2011 – Coach of the New Zealand Sevens side Gordon Tietjens believes his country will finally break their IRB Rugby World Cup drought and get their hands on the Webb Ellis trophy this Sunday.

The legendary coach, whose Sevens side won a record ninth HSBC Sevens World Series title last season, believes the All Blacks have the edge over their inconsistent French rivals

“I think the All Blacks will win quite comfortably,” he said. “They’re a united side at the moment and are looking really good so I think this is their year. It’s going to be a tough one though because you never know with the French and when they’re at their best they can be very dangerous.”

Tietjens, who will be in Dubai for the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens this December, was involved with the All Blacks’ World Cup preparation, having been invited by fellow coach Graham Henry to work with his players.

“I was invited to training for two weeks in a row to work with the loose forwards and the backs, giving them some sevens training which was good for their skills sets,” he explained.

Tietjens will soon be putting his own players through their paces as they prepare for the upcoming season, with a four-day training camp and trials planned for next week in Mount Maunganui.

Speaking of his level of confidence going into the season ahead as defending series champions, he said: “It’s really hard to say at the moment until I see the conditioning of the players. We haven’t played in a Sevens tournament this season yet but we’ll know more once we’ve selected the players and seen the combinations working together.

“We’ll have a couple of new faces in the team but we also have a lot of the experienced guys coming back so that’s good.” Tietjens’ side is likely to feature star player Ben Souness who is looking to return to the Sevens squad after a year out concentrating on 15s.

Tietjens believes playing in the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens as the second rather than the first leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series will provide a new challenge this season. “It’s going to be very different to before and playing three weeks in a row will be a real challenge but we’re looking forward to playing in Dubai. It’s my favourite destination. I have a lot of friends there and love coming to Dubai,” he added.

Tickets to see New Zealand and the other teams in action at the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens from December 1st-3rd are on sale at www.dubairugby7s.com and selected Costa and MMI outlets, Virgin Megastores, dnata, Emirates Headquarters and at 7he Sevens Stadium.