Rivals Australia and New Zealand entered the Rio Olympics as the top two ranked teams in women’s rugby sevens, so the fact that they met for the first-ever Olympic gold medal in the event came as a surprise to no one. And in the end it was Australia that made history, as they beat New Zealand 24-17.
Four different Wallabies scored a try for Australia, which won Pool A on eight points and was the top seed in bracket play, and Chloe Dalton made two of her four conversion kicks in the match. New Zealand, the second seed in the tournament, received two tries from Kayla McAlister but they were unable to come back from a 24-5 second half deficit.