The New Zealand men's sevens team have stormed into the semi-finals at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, crushing Canada 33-7 to go through group play unbeaten.
NZ men's sevens captain Scott Curry. Photo: Photosport
The All Black sevens trounced Zambia 54-nil and Kenya 40-7, before beating the Canadians to top pool C.
Only the winner of the pool advances to Sunday's semi-finals in Robina, meaning New Zealand couldn't really afford to drop a game in group play, but they never looked like they would with three dominant performances.
The All Black sevens, runners-up at the 2014 Glasgow Games, will play England for a place in the gold medal match after England topped pool B.
Defending Games champions South Africa and Olympic champions Fiji will contest the other men's semi-final after topping pool A and D respectively.
Fiji scraped past Wales in their final game to top pool D and qualify for the final four.
Hosts Australia are out of medal contention after finishing behind England in pool B.
The New Zealand men's team had won gold at every Commonwealth Games since the sport was included in the programme in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, before having to settle for silver in Glasgow in 2014.
NZ women's sevens star Portia Woodman. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Meanwhile, the New Zealand women's sevens team will also face England in Sunday's semi-finals at the the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games after brushing aside their group opponents to top pool A.
The Black Ferns Sevens crushed Kenya 45-nil and South Africa 41-nil on Friday, before rounding out pool play on Saturday evening with a comfortable 24-7 win over Canada.
New Zealand will play England for a place in the gold medal match, after England finished second in pool B behind hosts Australia.
Australia will play Canada, runners-up in pool A, in the semi-finals.
-RNZ
