Solid start in men's sevens
New Zealand opened their Olympic men's sevens tournament in style today.
The New Zealand men’s sevens team made the perfect start to their Olympic campaign with two impressive wins on the opening day at Stade de France in Paris.
First up they overpowered Japan 40-12, after leading 26-7 at halftime.
Later New Zealand, ranked No 3 in the world, returned to beat seventh-ranked South Africa 17-5 after a tough, physical encounter.
The Japan match quickly turned into a New Zealand steamroller effort.
Akuila Rokolisoa scored after just 30 seconds and the New Zealand team never lost that early momentum.
Rokolisoa had a memorable match with two tries and 18 points and Ngarohi McGarvey-Black and Fehi Fineanganofo also got in on the action with two tries each. Andrew Knewstubb contributed New Zealand’s other points with a conversion.
New Zealand scored six tries to Japan’s two.
Against South Africa, Moses Leo (2) and McGarvey-Black scored tries and Rokolisoa landed a difficult conversion.
New Zealand led 10-5 at halftime and despite some inventive back play, had to work hard to crack the determined South African defence.
Coach Tomasi Cama was delighted with how the day went. "We didn't want to underestimate any team - Japan beat New Zealand at the 2016 Olympics. So the boys were focused on getting good results.
"But it was nice to see them able to go out and enjoy themselves. They all have skills and like to express themselves in the way they play."
New Zealand play Ireland, ranked second in the world, in a potentially decisive match tomorrow.