All Blacks discard Joe Rokocoko scored three tries in each of his first two games to help New Zealand close in on another IRB sevens rugby championship at the London tournament on Saturday.
New Zealand has been the only champion of the sevens world series in its six-year history, and after winning four of the previous six legs this season, it's set to wrap up another overall title on finals day today.
The Kiwis dominated Pool A with routs of Tunisia (beaten 27-0) and Russia (36-7), against which Rokocoko each bagged hat tricks.
PHOTO: AP
Rokocoko, who has 27 tries in 23 tests in the last two years, had an average Super 12 season and missed selection for the All Blacks' opening match of 2005 against his former Fiji homeland next weekend. But released to the New Zealand Sevens side to sharpen up for the British and Irish Lions, the winger was irresistable.
New Zealand also thumped Scotland 36-0 to draw a quarterfinal against France today.
Pool B was a repeat of the Sevens World Cup in Hong Kong in March, when England, France and Samoa finished level on match points, and had to be separated by points difference.
Defending champion England beat France 29-0, but France downed Samoa 24-19. In the last match of the group, Samoa topped England 19-15, but the home side led the group with a points difference of plus-53, followed by France with plus-14, and Samoa only plus-11.
In today's quarters, England will meet Scotland, which finished runner-up in Pool A only after rallying to beat Russia 26-14.
World Cup champ Fiji was the class of Pool C with easy wins over Canada, Italy and Australia, which was runner-up.
Fiji will face Argentina in the last eight, while Australia will play Pool D winner South Africa.
South Africa and Argentina both knocked off Portugal and Kenya, and in their decider, the South Africans barely prevailed 24-21.
The loss of No.8 Lawrence Dallaglio to a tour-ending injury overshadowed the British and Irish Lions' 34-20 win over Bay of Plenty at Rotorua in the first match of their New Zealand rugby tour.
For 10 minutes at the start of the match Saturday and 10 minutes at the end, the Lions' showed class. But in the middle stages of the match, including the period when Dallaglio was injured, they often struggled to maintain concentration and control.
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