RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — As predicted, the first Olympic rugby sevens gold medal will be heading to either Australia or New Zealand.
In semifinal matches featuring the top four ranked teams, world series champion Australia beat Canada 17-5 on Monday and longtime women's rugby front-runner New Zealand scored five tries in a 25-7 win over Britain, with Portia Woodman crossing for her second hat trick of the tournament.
After a shaky Sunday, when Australia needed a late equalizer in a 12-12 result against the United States to finish the group stage and New Zealand struggled to a 5-0 win over the Americans, narrowly avoiding a quarterfinal upset, the situation was back to normal with medals on the line.