However, the first-up win came at a cost as ITM Cup players Whiria Meltzer and Andrew Kaveinga had to go undertake fitness testing the next day, with Kaveinga being ruled out of the remainder of the tournament.
Next up Northland again showed their attacking ability as the beat the NS Wanders 43-0, however in their next match they lost 43-0 to eventual tournament winners the Asia Pacific Dragons.
With Northland finishing second in their pool, they progressed to the final 16 where they beat the Pyrenees7s 24-0 before losing to eventual runners-up the Penguins 21-17.
The Northland side was knocked out in the quarter-final stages in their first visit to Singapore last year and they have high hopes of improving on that result this year.
"We'd obviously like to do better than that - we're 12 months down the track in terms of player development and two of the guys - Will Whetton and Ben Berridge - are making their second trip and their experience will be valuable for the team," Collins said before flying out last week.
The team has been picked from the in-form players from the two tournaments held to date in the Northland Sevens club circuit and includes a smattering of ITM Cup players.
"This tournament is all about getting further exposure for our players in high level tournaments. Auckland are sending a team over too and there are top club teams from all over the world," he said,
Collins said the extra importance given to the sevens game by the New Zealand Rugby Union has been reflected by extra expenditure at the national level and Northland needs to revisit the way the game is viewed in the region - both in the men's and women's games.
Northland: Andrew Kaveinga, Joni Macali Tori, Whiria Meltzer, Denny Windelborn (Awanui), William Whetton (Mid Northern), Ben Berridge (Mid Western), Rhys Te Nana (Moerewa), Mac Sykes, Joshua Brown (Kamo), Warren Dunn (Hora Hora), Ben Mathers (Waipu), Jesse Rihari (Kerikeri).
