Gordon Tietjens hailed his side's tremendous defensive effort after New Zealand retained their Wellington Sevens crown with a 24-7 victory over Fiji.
The 2011 HSBC World Sevens Series champions were forced to soak up the pressure in both their semi-final against England and in the early stages of a torrid rain-soaked final against Fiji before DJ Forbes got the breakthrough try.
Frank Halai then scored a quick-fire double and veteran playmaker Tomasi Cama put the game beyond doubt with a fourth just before half-time.
It was a vital win for New Zealand who now move three points clear of Fiji at the top of the series standings as the teams head to Las Vegas for the fifth round of the series next weekend.
"It was a good way to win the title. The conditions were difficult for both teams. I thought coming into the final Fiji were the best team handling the conditions. I knew they would be really tough," said Tietjens.
"Our defence I thought was outstanding. We turned our defence into attack. We put lots of pressure on them and they made a few mistakes and we took the opportunities.
"Not many opportunities come on a day when you're playing in conditions like that and you've got to take them when you've got them.
"It was great to see Frankie Halai dot over for two good tries at important times as well. It was collectively a great team performance and I'm pretty happy."
New Zealand would not have reached the final had Halai not produced some magic against England to score the match-winning try in extra time.
But debutant Mark Jackman said even when they were trailing 0-12 at the break there was never any thoughts of failing.
"There is a lot of self belief in the team. There was never any time in the game when we didn't think we were going to win," he said. "There's massive amounts of belief in the team."
Much of that belief was inspired by the experienced core of Forbes, Cama, Mikkelson, Halai and Solomon King, who all scored tries at crucial times throughout the two days in Wellington.
"They are the five guys that have got that real experience. That made it so much easier for Mark Jackman and Charles Piutau," said Tietjens.
"There's a lot of pressure to win your own tournament. Fiji have spoilt the party before.
"It's an awesome result for my team and it puts us up at the top of the world series, which I'm pleased about."
Hosea Gear, playing in his first Wellington Sevens tournament, also made some vital contributions coming off the bench.
"He came with limited preparation but he did the job for me," declared Tietjens. "He's a great player and I can't thank him enough for making himself available.
"One of his goals was to win Wellington and to be part of Wellington and he got his dream."
England bounced back from their Cup exit at the hands of New Zealand to defeat Samoa 21-12 in the third-fourth playoff match and they now sit third on the series ladder behind New Zealand and Fiji.
South Africa were the runaway winners in their Plate final against Tonga, their 24-0 win putting them fourth in the series – 12 points behind New Zealand.
After a poor opening day, Kenya finally showed some form to defeat Australia 12-7 to win the Bowl, while Scotland won the Shield, beating Cook Islands 19-17.