There are “rookie rugby” programs with the non-tackle game, aimed at all the kids who saw their first-ever match on Monday and said to their parents, “I want to do that”.
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Gold-medal contender New Zealand was expected to easily account for Japan, but went behind quickly when Teruya Goto dived over in the left corner and Lomano Lemeki converted from out wide.
Others suggested New Zealand Rugby had not given enough support to the Sevens team and that more top 15-man players should have been made available.
Two Rugby World Cup winner’s medals with the All Blacks, a matching pair of titles in Australia’s National Rugby League, a Super Rugby title with the Waikato Chiefs and, of course, a WBA worldwide heavyweight belt.
“When I started the game, women’s rugby in Australia wasn’t very big”, Parry said.
There appears to be no stopping South Africa, who lead Australia in Pool B after scoring a total of 50 points without reply in victories over Spain and France.
Japan pulled off a surprise 14-12 win over New Zealand on the first day of the sevens competition in Rio, one of the biggest shocks in sevens rugby history and a major blow to the All Blacks hopes of becoming the sport’s first Olympic champions after losing Sonny Bill Williams to an Achilles injury.
Williams has partaken in two Rugby World Cups, but it appears that Rio Olympics were a different beast as he nearly completely ruptured his Achilles tendon when he was tackling a Japanese team player. “We got our kick-offs nice against Japan, who are a dynamic team, but we need to get our decisions around the breakdown right, which is an area we need to work on ahead of New Zealand”.
Not for long it would seem.
As we played on, we started getting more confident and New Zealand started to struggle there a bit.
The Australians, always putting themselves in the path of a challenge, trailed early against the Spanish until settling down to post an nearly convincing 14 point win.
Rounding out the day were the World Series Champions from the Pacific looking to seal a second win and secure top spot in Pool A when they took on Argentina and, although getting the win, the Fijians were also pushed to the brink in a bruising encounter that nearly had the men in blue getting in for a final try.
The significant injuries to Williams and Webber were not the last.
Australia’s victorious rugby team celebrated their emphatic win against New Zealand with family and friends, partying in the city of Rio through the night. He will be replaced by Tom Kingston. When the Olympic rugby sevens competition finally kicked off, he spent about eight minutes on the field.
“And that’s a massive strength of his and it’s exciting when he does get the ball”.
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The New Zealanders rallied to beat Kenya 28-5, but now face unbeaten Britain on Wednesday in the last Pool C game.
