Australia beat Canada 17-5 and New Zealand thumped Great Britain 25-7 in the semi-finals of the Women’s Sevens at the Deodoro Stadium in Rio on Monday.
The Australasian rivals will compete in the first-ever women’s final at the Olympics, while Canada and Great Britain will fight for the bronze medal.
In the opening semi-final, Australia raced to a 17-0 lead before the Canadians crossed for a late consolation try. In a one-sided first half, Australia’s Emilee Cherry scored two tries followed by one from Chloe Dalton. Charity Williams broke Canada’s duck when she powered over the tryline with a minute left, but Australia’s lead proved unassailable.
In the second semi between the only two teams to have won all their games, powerhouse Portia Woodward bagged a hat-trick for the Kiwis against Great Britain. With the score at 7-5 in favour of the Brits, the match was well poised, but two yellow cards in the space of a minute cost them as New Zealand pulled away. Woodman dotted down twice after that, while Rudi Tui and Huriana Manuel also got on the score sheet.
Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
