The All Blacks Sevens have opened their Olympic campaign with a dominant 50-5 win over a spirited South Korea.
Korea kept the match close initially but two yellow cards ruined any chances of a giant upset as the New Zealand team made the most of the missing man.
Andrew Knewstubb scored the first try of the tournament for New Zealand after tacking a quick-tap penalty and running in on his own against the unprepared Korean defence.
South Korea struck back soon after, catching the All Blacks Sevens off guard when they used a penalty of their own to take a scrum near halfway and attacked the blindside to score on the right wing.
Captain Tim Mikkelson made sure the Kiwis had a decent lead at halftime though, scoring moments after the restart with a sprint down the left wing to put his side up 14-5 at the break.
Korea looked to start the second half with a hiss and a roar with a break down the right wing but a brilliant diving tackle from a sweeping Scott Curry saw the play finish up in touch.
Things went from bad to worse for Korea as they were reduced to six men after deflecting a pass deliberately, resulting in New Zealand being awarded a penalty try.
From there, the floodgates opened as Mikkelson added a second and William Warbrick ran away for his first to make the score 33-5 with two minutes to go.
A second yellow card for Korea put the result beyond doubt with Etene Nanai-Seturo adding salt to the wound with a try of his own.
Ngarohi McGarvey-Black and Warbrick added two more tries to bring up 50 points for the Kiwis and put the final nail in Korea's coffin.
The win is a positive start for the All Blacks Sevens with matches against Argentina and Australia still to come.
New Zealand is back in action tonight against Argentina at 8:30pm NZT.
SHARE ME