The New Zealand Sevens rugby coach Gordon Tietjens said winning next week's Dubai World Cup Sevens is going to be tough.

The defending champions have not won a round of the world series this season so far and are also up against pure specialist sevens teams in every tournament now, while Tietjens has to make do with youngsters and just one Super 14 import, the Hurricanes number eight Victor Vito.

But the NZ sevens coach said there's another side to the seven man code for New Zealand as well as trying to win the Melrose Cup and the series.