New Zealand’s Olympic Games gold medal hopefuls were knocked out at the Cup quarter finals, leading to a coaching and culture overhaul that has led the team to win the Sevens World Cup and the Commonwealth Games.

The Kiwis 2016 campaign in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, backfired in their first pool match when they went down to Japan in their pool opener and later lost Sonny Bill Williams to injury.

They managed to qualify but were unfortunate to go down 12-7 to eventual gold medal winners Fiji.

However, the biggest test of all for the new culture and coach Clark Laidlaw is still to come in Tokyo but those past mistakes will help.

“We have talked about Rio” Laidlaw told TV NZ.

“Certainly, the start of this year and previous years we’ve talked about how we prepared for that tournament.

“There’s some gaps around preparation and some of the off field stuff around how tight the group was so we’ve addressed that.”

Laidlaw’s overseen a resurgent team since 2017 however their performance is only part of the story.

“I feel like we are on the same page as a group of players where potentially we might not be been before,” Kurt Baker said when comparing this year’s team to the 2016 Rio squad.

“We’ll obviously find out at the Olympics whether it’s going good.”

The comradery is a result of a very deliberate effort to create a culture where people don’t want to leave.

One example; yearly connection camps where talk is prioritised over training, allowing players and staff to be vulnerable and ask questions like, “who am I and what’s my why?

“We know a lot about each other on and off the field and I think that helps when it comes to this point in a year,” Baker said.

“We’re really tight, probably too tight some days with the amount of fun and banter they give each other,” Laidlaw added.

The proof also lies with players such as Caleb Clarke who have come back.

Despite the good vibes, Laidlaw knows another failed Olympic campaign could cancel out all that work.

“There’s always expectation,” he said.

“Doesn’t matter if you’re coaching Taranaki under-16s, Hurricanes or Sevens- the expectation to play well and win is always there.”

This weekend the Kiwis take on Fiji and Australia in the PacificAus Sports Oceania 7s competition as their final preparation for the Tokyo Olympics.

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