New Zealand's series-defining sevens rugby match could arrive as early as Sunday night's (NZT) quarterfinals, and a potential clash with their nemesis Samoa, as they look to snatch another world title at the last hurdle in Edinburgh.
New Zealand are seven points behind series leaders Samoa, so need to win the Edinburgh tournament and hope their rivals crash out in the semifinals or earlier to claim their ninth world series in 11 seasons.
Coach Gordon Tietjens' side won the opening two tournaments of the season but since then have played second fiddle to Samoa who racked up six straight wins over New Zealand, including a 19-10 victory in the London quarterfinals last weekend.
Tietjens admitted he thought their world series chances were "probably gone" at that point, but Samoa stumbled in the semifinals against South Africa and New Zealand snatched the plate final with a late try against Fiji to keep themselves in the running.
"I've certainly got a team here who can win this tournament. We're a good side and we've got to just perform on the day," Tietjens told NZPA.
"We won two of our games at the weekend on the last play of the game. That's how close it is, it comes down to a missed tackle or a dropped pass and that's what wins you games and tournaments.
"For us it's about eliminating those errors and applying heaps of pressure to the opposition."
Tietjens recalled two other occasions, in 2000 and 2008, when New Zealand had got up in the final tournament to clinch the series.
New Zealand face Russia, Italy and South Africa in pool B early on Sunday (NZT), with the latter match deciding whether they face Samoa in the quarterfinals. Samoa also have a tough pool A against Kenya, France and Argentina. The winner of pool A meets the runnerup in pool B, and vice-versa, in the quarterfinals late on Sunday (NZT).
Tietjens wasn't overly concerned about Samoa's growing status as their bogey team this season.
"It happens in sevens you have a run of losses against any particular side. Three or four years ago we went through a similar patch against Fiji. But now the last 15 times we've played them we've beaten them 14 times.
"They're having it with us and we're obviously having it with Samoa. The last three times we've played Samoa they've certainly been beatable but you make mistakes at crucial times and they punish you.
"Samoa have come on particularly well, they've got a lot of firepower and they've stayed together throughout the whole series. They've come in with a real want to win this championship and they've been the form team throughout."
Samoa have three of the four finalists for the International Rugby Board's (IRB) world player of the year award; Alafoti Fa'osiliva, Lolo Lui and Mikaele Pesamino, who is comfortably the season's leading tryscorer with 50.
England's Ben Gollings, the season's leading pointscorer with 309, is the other finalist.
Perhaps unlucky to miss the list was New Zealand's Kurt Baker who was their saviour in London and will be looked at to spark Tietjens' troops again this weekend. He is equal second with Kenya's Collins Injera on the season tryscoring list with 31.
"Kurt has been simply outstanding this year. Last weekend I think he scored 11 tries, and a fantastic one to win us the game against England. He's on fire, his support play is tremendous," Tietjens said.
New Zealand have an unchanged squad from last weekend, which featured Taranaki teenager Beauden Barrett in his first tournament and the return of Solomon King, Sherwin Stowers and Lote Raikabula.
