And the Dutch and even the Chinese.
The New Zealand women's sevens team returned to New Zealand yesterday after a win at the last tournament of the year in Amsterdam, which sealed victory in the world series, repeating what the men had achieved earlier this month.
For Otago's Kelly Brazier, who played a key part in the victory by the national side even though she was hampered somewhat by a calf strain picked up on the first day, it was a hard-fought win, as the standard of play has increased greatly since the first tournament last year.
''The quality of rugby was pretty high all-round. We didn't have any easy games. We played Russia twice, and they have really improved,'' she said.
''They have done a lot of training and have got some really quick, solid players. It really showed how much work they have done when they beat England for third place by about 30 points.''
New Zealand beat Russia 17-5 in pool play and then 24-10 in the semifinal.
The team then beat Canada 32-24 in the final, coming back from a couple of big-points deficits as the Canadians went out to a 14-point lead at one stage.
New Zealand had earlier beaten China 24-0 and the Netherlands 15-0 in pool play.
A win over Spain 14-5 in the quarterfinal sealed the world title for New Zealand.
With sevens going to the Rio De Janeiro Olympics in 2016 for both men and women, there is an increased emphasis on the sport by many nations.
Brazier said the side had to dig deep to gain victory, especially in the final.
''The heads did not drop as we knew we were still in the game. They were a good side but we just kept competing against them and got the points.''
The players will now have a few weeks off before preparing for the big focus this year - the World Cup in Moscow at the end of next month.
Australia is the defending champion and took only a junior side to the Amsterdam tournament but performed better than expected.
Brazier, who was feeling weary yesterday after a flight home of more than 20 hours over the past couple of days, was not sure whether she would be right to turn out for her Alhambra-Union club side in the next couple of weeks. She wants to get over her calf strain and be right for the World Cup.
But overall her fitness is great.
''We have some really intense and hard sessions at our training camps. Once you go to those and go back to 15s it is a bit of a breeze. I've just got a good aerobic base which helps you recover quicker.''
