Diana Taurasi and her USA teammates knew they’d be in for a test against Serbia.
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Even that finish was nothing compared to the drama that played out in the third quarter-final, which was only decided when Britain’s Dan Bibby crashed through the Argentine defence four minutes into golden point extra time.
The injury means the Wallabies are assured of facing a relatively inexperienced All Blacks centre combination in all three Bledisloe Cup Tests, with veterans Maa Nonu and Conrad Smith retired from worldwide rugby after last year’s World Cup.
AUSTRALIA made history in the early hours of Tuesday morning when our women’s rugby sevens side claimed the gold medal over arch-rivals New Zealand at the Rio Olympics.
Argentina finished second behind Fiji in Pool A to set up a quarter-final with unbeaten Britain.
It was a day of shocks in the sevens, with Australia beaten first up by France, 31-14.
Japan produced the biggest upset ever at the Rugby World Cup with a win over South Africa in the group stage previous year in the marquee tournament in the 15-a-side game.
Fiji underlined their status as the world number 1 team by beating Brazil 40-12 in their first game while Argentina edged the U.S. 17-14 in session one.
“Obviously we are disappointed to lose today but we were in a with a chance right to the end”, New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens said.
Japan shocked world champions New Zealand on a dramatic and compelling opening day of the Olympic Games men’s rugby sevens competition.
Asked if he thought the Kiwis had taken the Japanese too lightly, Lemeki said: “I think they might have, but I don’t think they’ll be doing that again!”
“Pretty gutted. We came out here to win a gold medal and we are bringing back a silver”, said New Zealand captain Sara Goss.
Kenya regrouped and faced a wounded New Zealand.
“What is most special about this and playing for Great Britain is that we’ve got Welsh and Scottish boys playing alongside the English boys, we’ve made good friends that’s the best thing about it”, he added.
Everything is going to plan for tournament favourites Fiji, winning its opening Group A games.
The match fluctuated back and forth until National Football League special teams player Nate Ebner rampaged down the touchline for a 40-metre try in the final minute, which give Madison Hughes the chance to add the extra points and keep the United States alive.
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In a third blow, Joe Webber was taken off the pitch on a stretcher with a dislocated left shoulder soon after Williams but, having already used the one replacement they are allowed, New Zealand have kept him in the squad.
