The Black Ferns Sevens have smashed Russian Olympic Committee 33-0 to book their place in the Olympic quarter-finals against the same opponents.
Ruby Tui opened the scoring after Theresa Fitzpatrick burst through the defence from within her own 22m. The Russians chased her down but she was still able to deliver a miracle offload to a trailing Tui, who had nothing but green grass ahead of her and sprinted to the line to touch down under the posts.
It was Tui who scored again in the final minute of the first half, beating her defender for pace on the right wing off a turnover ball.
The Black Ferns took a 14-point lead into the break.
Skipper Sarah Hirini started off how they had finished the first half, stealing a vacant ball off the back of a Russian breakdown before flinging it to a wide-open Portia Woodman on her left. Woodman waltzed over the line to score the Ferns’ third try.
The Black Ferns continued to show their class. A beautifully weighted kick through by Tui allowed Stacey Fluhler to run on and touch down in the corner for their fourth try with three minutes to play.
A minute later Fluhler strolled in for her second, after receiving a long skip pass from Kelly Brazier on the right wing just metres from the line.
The 33-0 victory set up a rematch with ROC in the quarter-final later on this evening. The semi-finals and medal games will be played tomorrow.
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