New Zealand men's coach Clark Laidlaw enjoyed "awesome" preparation time with the team in his native Scotland ahead of the defence of their Commonwealth Games crown this weekend and is excited by a number of fresh faces in the squad.

The men defeated Fiji 14-0 at Gold Coast last time out to regain their title on the back of a silver medal at Glasgow 2014 after golds at the previous four Games - Delhi, Melbourne, Manchester and Kuala Lumpur.

The 45-year-old Scot said: “Obviously I’m a proud Scotsman but really proud of this team, so to go there with the team and see a bit of history, it was pretty cool.

“Preparation wise it was awesome. The way the men prepared and the way they went about their work was exciting. It’s put us in a great space this week to feel quite calm and relaxed as we build into the weekend.”

The men’s side have a tough draw in Birmingham, starting with Sri Lanka in their opening game before they face Samoa and England but Laidlaw is confident they - with teenagers Caleb Tangitau and Che Clark hoping to make their international debuts - are well up for the challenge.

He added: “That’s probably why we selected them. We know they are quite calm customers. From their preparation and the way they have gone about their business is really exciting.

New Zealand women celebrated Commonwealth Games success in Australia in 2018

“We have a huge amount of respect for Samoa and the way they are playing, we think they are a really dangerous team and could easily medal here if they get it right. So we are going to have to play really well to beat them.

“Then obviously England at home. There is a lot going on in their programme at the minute and I’m sure emotion will be high with not only playing at home but what’s to come with losing their Sevens programme. So, we are well aware of the challenges that will come.”

New Zealand women's coach Cory Sweeney admits there is a lot of healthy competition within his squad as his defending champions go into battle against Sri Lanka, Canada and England.

He said: “There is definitely some tension and edge in our environment and I’m sure that will translate into some good quality performances when we get to play other teams.”

The stage is set for what promises to be a scintillating three days of Commonwealth Games rugby sevens competition
World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont

Halfback Tyla Nathan-Wong, who celebrated gold four years ago after the final victory over Australia, said: “We’ve got three of the best teams in the world here with Fiji, Australia and us, so that’s exciting and also someone like England, playing at home – it’s going to be an awesome weekend of sevens.”

World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont is looking forward to the Sevens action getting under way on Friday, ahead of Sunday's finals.

He said: “The stage is set for what promises to be a scintillating three days of Commonwealth Games rugby sevens competition at Coventry Stadium."