New Zealand sevens rugby coach Gordon Tietjens must roll the dice on a couple of key selection issues that could dictate their success at the Las Vegas tournament starting on Sunday morning (NZ time).
After winning the two opening tournaments of the International Rugby Board series in Dubai and South Africa, New Zealand bowed out in the semifinals of the Wellington tournament last weekend.
The nature of his team's listless loss to Samoa will have moved Tietjens into planning overdrive this week ahead of the first IRB tournament ever hosted in the United States gambling capital.
He controversially named Waikato flyer Tim Mikkelson in place of veteran Zar Lawrence for the Samoan semi but the gangly Mikkelson had little impact.
However, he wasn't solely to blame for the loss, with New Zealand simply out-hustled in the contest for possession while several players were guilty of defensive blunders.
Tietjens must decide if there is a case to inject a hard-nosed forward such as Fritz Lee or Paul Grant to his top starting pack, while players such as Save Tokula and Nafi Tuitavake have done little wrong when introduced off the bench all season.
Lawrence will be stinging and is sure to want to make the most of opportunities in New Zealand's pool matches against France, Guyana and Australia.
There will be no room for experimenting on day two, with New Zealand's likely quarterfinal opponents being either red-hot Wellington champions Fiji or 2008/09 series champions South Africa.
The first day should pose few problems. Guyana are making their debut appearance in the IRB series while New Zealand haven't lost to Australia since 2002, nor to France since 2005.
There should ample opportunities for winger Sherwin Stowers to add to his season tally of 19 tries, the most by any player in this year's series.
New Zealand: DJ Forbes (captain), Sherwin Stowers, Kurt Baker, Nafi Tuitavake, Tim Mikkelson, Zar Lawrence, Tomasi Cama, Lote Raikabula, Ben Souness, Paul Grant, Save Tokula, Fritz Lee
Standings: New Zealand 64, Fiji 60, Samoa 46, England 44, Australia 30, Kenya 28, South Africa 24, Argentina 22, Wales 12, Canada 6
