Fiji vs. New Zealand
Fiji entered the semifinal match having an outstanding tournament, highlighted by their upset of Australia, the defending gold medalists. New Zealand entered as heavy favorites to win the gold medal in 2020. The hype didn't disappoint as it was easily the best match of the day.
If defense wins championships, this match proved it as most of the first half was played near the 50. The score was 7-5 in Fiji's favor at the half.
In the second, Fiji tried to make sure their Cinderella story wasn't over yet. They opened the scoring with a try from Vasiti Solikoviti to make it 12-5. Two minutes later, New Zealand tied it on a breakaway from Portia Woodman. It looked like New Zealand would advance when they tacked on another try by Stacey Fluhler to make it 17-12, with less than 30 seconds remaining. However, Fiji showed pure heart all match and Reapi Ulunisau fought her way down the field and managed to touch the ball down inside the try to even the score at 17, having the match head to extra time and sudden death.
The two teams looked exhausted in extra time. Fiji was on their heels the whole time, committing four penalties. New Zealand dominated possession of the ball, for nearly three minutes, and finally broke through for a try by Gayle Broughton.
The Kiwis advance to play France in the gold medal match at 5:00 a.m. ET.
New Zealand, France advance to gold medal match in rugby 7s - NBC Olympics
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