England Rugby Sevens forward Tom Powell has said that he is "confident" of his team's chances of ending New Zealand's dominance at the Commonwealth Games this summer.
The All Blacks have been the undisputed kings of sevens at the Games having picked up all four gold medals and not lost a single Commonwealth match since the sport was introduced in 1998.
However, England did beat New Zealand at the London Sevens in May, and Powell believes that they are capable of finally ending the reigning IRB World Series and World Cup champions' stranglehold at the Games.
"Certainly they're the formidable team. They've never lost a Commonwealth Games game, played really well this season, but as we've proven on a couple of occasions we've turned them over. At Twickenham most recently and before that was in Tokyo. Having said that we lost to them in the Hong Kong final, so it is fine margins at this level," Powell told Sports Mole.
"We know they're a very good team and we've got a lot of respect for them and the way they go about things, but on our day we're confident that we can pick up a result against them. It's a two-day tournament and it will be the team that deals with the pressure, handles the whole situation that is going on with the Commonwealth Games best and can translate that into performances on the pitch that will come out on top. Hopefully through the preparation we've put in we'll be able to do that.
"It may not have been said but it's in the back of people's minds that they're not an unbeatable team. They're humans like everybody else and I think it's more about focusing on what we can do. We'll certainly look at the opposition and what they like to do and how they play, but it's about looking at what we can control and how we go about things on the pitch. Once we've done that, I'm confident that the result will take care of itself."
England will first need to take on Sri Lanka, Uganda and Australia on the opening day of sevens action at Ibrox on July 26.
Click here for Sports Mole's full interview with Powell.
Barney Corkhill
