World Cup victory icing on the cake for Kiwi women's sevens squad

Victory at the World Cup would be "pivotal' for women's rugby in New Zealand, manager Gareth Duncan said, but for the Kiwi women it was more likely to be about settling a score with trans-Tasman rivals Australia.

Like their men's team, the New Zealand women are also top of the heap and will be looking for the double at the Rugby World Cup Sevens, having won the inaugural IRB Women's World Series this season. And they cannot wait for the action to start.

Four years ago in Dubai, host city of the first women's World Cup, Australia defeated New Zealand 15-10 in sudden-death extra-time. That loss has rankled the women in black and they are keen to make amends.

"This is important to us. It [World Cup] is the pinnacle of rugby sevens, and having just won the World Series we are looking forward to the opportunity [of adding the World Cup]," Duncan said.

New Zealand have dominated both the men's and women's game. The women won three of the four legs of the World Series - Dubai, Guangzhou and Amsterdam with only Houston slipping from their grasp - to enter the 16-team women's event as raging favourites.