Great Britain heaped further indignity on New Zealand’s beleaguered rugby sevens squad by beating them 21-19 in their final pool game on day two of the Olympic tournament. The still-unbeaten GB team are now poised to play Argentina in the quarter-finals later on Wednesday.
A sluggish New Zealand, who lost two players including Sonny Bill Williams to injury on the opening day, had already been beaten by Japan and had to rely on the United States losing by five points or more to Fiji in the final game of the pool phase to qualify for the last eight. The Americans took an early lead against the tournament favourites but were beaten 24-19 to hand the Kiwis a last-gasp lifeline.
The men in black were truly dire in the first half and GB took full advantage, scoring three quickfire tries to build a 21-0 lead. Scotland’s Mark Bennett, Welshman James Davies and England’s Dan Norton all touched down with Tom Mitchell adding three conversions. It was a different story in the second half as Reiko Ioane, Regan Ware and Lewis Ormond responded for the Kiwis but there was to be no escape. “We struggled to dominate the breakdown early and they dominated us physically,” said Sam Dickson. “Jeez, it’s disappointing.”
GB have enjoyed a much smoother ride and are now just two wins away from a medal. “We started our very well and implemented our game-plan,” said Norton. “Three strong wins in the pool games is what everyone is after, and we are very happy with that. We didn’t have the ball as much as we wanted in the second-half, but to get the win is an amazing feeling.”
