With a number of superstar additions, the New Zealand Sevens team looks a different beast.

Sonny Bill Williams, Ardie Savea, Ben Lam and the Ioane brothers, Akira and Rieko, have added serious firepower to Gordon Tietjens' national squad for the Wellington Sevens.

Add in experienced campaigner Kurt Baker and All Blacks halfback Augustine Pulu, and you have a team transformed from that which stuttered through the opening two tournament of the world series.

Injury played a big part in restricting New Zealand to only 25 points in Dubai and Cape Town, good enough for sixth-equal on the World Rugby Sevens Series ladder.

But with the quality reinforcements Tietjens now has at his disposal, and more sevens talent still to return from injury, fears New Zealand won't be a threat this world series, or in Rio, can be put to rest.

READ MORE: Will SBW save the 7s?

The biggest talking point in Wellington will be the debut of two-time Rugby World Cup-winning All Black Sonny Bill Williams.

Williams remains firmly in the transitional phase of his move to sevens ahead of the Rio Olympics, hoping to add yet another achievement to his impressive CV.

Tietjens plans for Williams to play prop in the abbreviated form of the game, although he will also be an option in the back line, particularly at centre.

In camp, Williams has been learning fast, feasting off the knowledge of injured national captain Scott Curry, who has been Williams' personal aide in training.

Curry is one of the best props in sevens and if Williams can take some of his knowledge onto the field it will be a huge kick start for the famed code-hopper.

The other player to watch will be Hurricanes flanker Ardie Savea, who will look to play four world series tournament ahead of the Rio Olympics.

Savea is having to juggle sevens and Super Rugby commitments, and came into camp slightly out of shape at the beginning of the year.

But with hard work, and a knowledge of what was expected of him from his last stint in the side in 2012, Savea has impressed Tietjens enough to add serious X-factor to the forward line.

The Ioane brothers may be the game-breakers New Zealand is in serious need of come Rio with their pace, power and size all on display for Auckland at the national sevens tournament in Rotorua.

Tietjens will have to keep Akira Ioane motivated, although that shouldn't be hard.

In his first game for Auckland at nationals, he was anonymous, but from then on he appeared on a personal mission to prove his worth as Tietjens watched from the sidelines.

The stars won't have it all their own way, however, in their pursuit of places on the plane to Rio.

With Scott Curry, DJ Forbes and Sherwin Stowers out injured, and Liam Messam not available until Sydney at the earliest, Tietjens will know this Wellington team isn't his strongest possible squad.

That can only be a good thing come the Olympic Games.

Tietjens' side play South Africa, Scotland and Russia in Pool A at the Wellington Sevens on Saturday.

Fiji and South Africa lead the series on 35 points, with the United States and Argentina (29) tied third, and England (26) close behind in fifth.

New Zealand Sevens team: Kurt Baker, Sam Dickson, Akira Ioane, Rieko Ioane, Gillies Kaka, Ben Lam, Tim Mikkelson, Augustine Pulu, Ardie Savea, Regan Ware, Sonny Bill Williams, Joe Webber.