Touch Black off to defend World Cup - April 2015

BACK THE COACH: After guiding the Wanganui High School touch teams to another good season, veteran Touch Black Sean Brown is off again for the start of the Touch Rugby World Cup next week.

TWO-TIME Touch Rugby World Cup winner Sean Brown says his team will use their experience and guile to retain their title in Australia next week.

Brown will rejoin the Touch Blacks in the senior mixed (over-30s) grade of the tournament, being held in Coffs Harbour on the upper north coast of New South Wales. The Wanganui High School PE teacher has been a champion with the New Zealand team in South Africa in 2007 and Scotland in 2011.

"We're lucky most of the team have been to previous world cups," he said. "We've played together for a long time, so we're lucky that way."

In the senior mixed grade, New Zealand have never lost, with hosts Australia being the other favourite, alongside England, Niue, Singapore and the Netherlands.

"It's always a two-horse race, but the development of the game has expanded quite a bit," said Brown.

The team is preparing for wet conditions after stormy weather in Australia and Brown said that would suit the team.

He has taken a gap year from playing rugby union with Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist so he can focus on the World Cup while also spending more time touch rugby coaching.

Having taken Wanganui High School's mixed team to back-to-back runner-up placings at the d3 NZ Secondary Schools tournament, Brown is also assisting with coaching the New Zealand Under-17 mixed team.

The World Cup starts on Wednesday.

Over five days the Kiwis will play each of the five opponents twice, with the top two teams playing in the final. A total of 25 nations are sending 97 teams to compete in nine grades.