Williams, 31, will miss New Zealand’s matches in the Rugby Championship which begins next month after being helped off and taken to hospital in an ambulance during New Zealand’s shock 14-12 defeat to Japan in their Pool C opener.
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New Zealand, South Africa and Great Britain are the other perennial world powers, but this year the United States of America also has a shot at the podium.
Williams, twice a World Cup victor in the 15-man game, partially ruptured his Achilles charging into a tackle and was replaced in the squad by Sione Molia.
In a third blow, Joe Webber was taken off the pitch on a stretcher with a dislocated left shoulder soon after Williams but, having already used the one replacement they are allowed, New Zealand have kept him in the squad.
Williams, twice a World Cup victor in the 15-man game, suffered the injury to his left ankle while carrying the ball into a tackle two minutes into the second half and immediately indicated to the bench that he needed help.
“Sonny Bill’s a great professional, he’s very infectious, he certainly helps the younger players and has a great work ethic”. Each game consists of two halves of seven minutes each, with the same scoring rules as traditional rugby.
“To think, eight years down the track, I’m an Olympian, I play rugby as a full-time job”.
Woodman said she was left “disappointed with my own game, not that of my team”.
“But that’s sevens rugby, the gap has closed considerably and if you’re not up for it on the day, you’ll be beaten”.
The match was a tense affair decided in the closing moments as Japan scored with the clock in the red – and the joy on the faces of the players was clear to see.
“We’ve got a chance to get into the quarters tomorrow”, Tietjens said.
And Japan player Lomano Lemeki described the latest feat as “unbelievable” after New Zealand, who also lost star player Sonny Bill Williams to a tournament-ending injury, were floored.
But the moment of the day belonged to Japan in their historic victory over the Kiwis.
At a sun-kissed Deodoro Stadium, with massive support for the underdogs, Truya Goto squeezed past Rieko Ioane’s tackle to dot down in the corner to open Japan’s account.
“They put in a gutsy performance against the number one seed”.
“As we played on, we started getting more confident and New Zealand started to struggle there a bit. We’re not coming here just to make up the numbers … we’re here to give a big run to all the big boys”.
Captain Scott Curry said they were guilty of making too may mistakes.
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Williams was part of the All Blacks side that triumphed at the 2015 Rugby World Cup but switched codes ahead of the inaugural Olympic rugby sevens competition.
