TOKYO – Revenge will be on the minds of New Zealand’s players after they booked a date with Fiji in the rugby sevens final at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday (July 28).
The final will be played at 5pm (Sgp time).
Five years ago in Rio de Janeiro, two sides met in the quarter-final when the sport made its Olympic debut. Fiji won 12-7, and went on to win gold, while the All Blacks Sevens placed fifth.
Half of New Zealand’s squad in Tokyo were also part of the squad in Rio, and two of them – Scott Curry and Regan Ware – scored two tries each as they stormed into the final with a 29-7 trouncing of Great Britain in the semi-final played at the Tokyo Stadium in Chofu.
Minutes later, Fiji then took to the pitch for their own semi-final with Argentina and after racing into a 12-0 lead, endured a scare after the South Americans came back to end the first half 14-12.
A day earlier, the Argentinians had stunned South Africa 19-14 to earn a place in the final four, despite playing most of the game with six men and ending it with just five after a late dismissal.
But the Fijians showed their class in the second half and snuffed out any hopes of a fairy tale run for their opponents, shutting out the Argentinians while scoring two tries and two conversions, to win 26-14.
