New Zealand have gone unbeaten on the first day of the Paris Sevens, advancing to the tournament quarter finals with wins over Scotland, Japan and hosts France.
Starting off against Scotland, New Zealand were made to work for their first victory, with Regan Ware opening the scoring after five minutes, taking a 7-0 lead into the break.
After halftime though, Scotland threatened an upset on day one, with tries to Alec Coombes and Glenn Bryce seeing New Zealand trail 12-7 heading into the final moments.
A last gasp try from Jona Nareki saw the Kiwis level the scores, before a flawless conversion from Andrew Knewstubb gave the All Blacks Sevens a 14-12 victory.
Nareki had his second try of the day after just two minutes of New Zealand's next match - against Japan - before again the All Blacks Sevens fell behind. Michael Toloke and Naoki Motomura giving Japan a 14-7 lead at halftime.
The second half though, saw the All Blacks Sevens produce a vintage attacking display, with tries to Ware, a second for Nareki, Amanaki Nicole and Knewstubb to see New Zealand home 31-14.
New Zealand's final pool match saw the Kiwis with a chance to avenge their loss from the London Sevens last month, taking on hosts France.
The hosts would strike first, with Jean Pascal Barraque crossing over after just two minutes, before the All Blacks Sevens produced a fightback to remember.
Tries to captain Scott Curry, Sione Molia and another to Ware gave New Zealand a 17-5 lead late in the second half, with France only managing a consolation try, again to Barraque to finish pool play.
The perfect opening day will see New Zealand face Argentina in the quarter-finals later tonight, while France will be up against giants Fiji.
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