New Zealand, Fiji flex muscles at Gold Coast

Gold Coast, Australia: Sevens powerhouses New Zealand and Fiji steamed into the quarter-finals of the IRB Gold Coast World Series Sevens with unbeaten pool games on Saturday.

Defending series and Gold Coast champions New Zealand scored more than 100 points while Fiji conceded just 17.

The Kiwis topped Pool A with big wins over France (36-7), Japan (59-0) and Samoa (28-17), while the Fijians cruised past Scotland (40-7), Portugal (38-0) and hosts Australia (35-12).

Argentina and South Africa topped their pools to avoid facing New Zealand and Fiji in Sunday’s quarter-finals.

In the quarter finals, New Zealand will play England, Fiji take on Wales, Argentina face Samoa and South Africa have Australia.

The kick-off of the 2014/15 World Seven Series heralds the beginning of an eight-month global campaign with the top four-ranked nations qualifying directly for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Six more nations will gain entry from individual regional qualifiers in the second half of next year, with the final qualifying place to be decided at a repechage event in 2016.