Following the success of the New Zealand XV team in winning the 2011 Rugby World Cup on home soil, SPARC have provided an increase in funding for the sport and have met with NZRU to talk about supporting the Olympic programme.

SPARC are set to fund a four-year plan aimed at building a women's rugby sevens team largely from scratch, while also supporting the existing men's rugby sevens programme.

Both teams are currently ranked as the world's best rugby sevens teams but Sorensen said that extra funding is vital to allow seven's players, particularly on the men's side, to go full-time with the sport ahead of the Olympics.

"We said to SPARC we are doing okay with the guys but we will have to change things slightly to ensure Olympic success because we need more full time sevens players," Sorensen said.

"At the moment, our highest paid sevens players have to play sevens and other competitions like the ITM Cup to make it worthwhile.

"By 2014, we are looking at having a fulltime squad of about 20 sevens players and we need to be paying them enough for them to say this is my full focus.

"They won't be able to play ITM Cup or Super Rugby."

The move is somewhat controversial as there is a debate about whether specialist sevens players are required to win gold at an Olympics or whether top XV players, like fly-half star Dan Carter, should make a one-off appearance in the shorter form of the game.

On the men's side, New Zealand have clearly decided that sevens specialists are the best option but for the women's game, the plan is simply to get more women playing rugby sevens now that it is an Olympic sport.

NZRU have currently short-listed 20 applicants for a newly created role of national women's sevens coach, with the chosen candidate set to be mentored by men's sevens coach Gordon Tietjens (pictured) as part of a scheme to get the men's and women's sevens teams working closer together.

There are also plans for a talent search of the country with scouts looking for potential female rugby sevens players in a series of trials next year.

"In 2012 we will be doing something similar to what the British did with their cycling four years ago," Sorensen said.

"We'll go out to the 14 ITM Cup regions and advertise to potential athletes to say 'have you ever thought about winning a gold medal?'

"It doesn't matter if you have never played the sport before.

"The trials will be open to any female between the age of 15 and 25 with training camps then established in each of New Zealand's ITM Cup provinces.

"Specialist coaches will be set to oversee the regional training squads with the national women's sevens coach to oversee the whole process for the first two years.

"The plans show just how intent we are in leaving Rio with two rugby sevens gold medals."

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