Rugby sevens: NZ through to quarters, Arnold ruled out

DJ Forbes. Photo / Mark Mitchell

New Zealand will have to box on for the rest of the Wellington Sevens without Toby Arnold.

The 24-year-old suffered a leg injury in New Zealand's opening 29-7 pool A victory over Scotland at Westpac Stadium this afternoon.

Arnold took to social networking site Twitter to confirm he was on the shelf: "Out of tournament tweeps. Absolutely gutted,'' he tweeted following scans of the injured peg.

The injury has created a problem for New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens, although Cantabrian Mark Jackman seems likely to fill Arnold's role in the backline for the remainder of the tournament.

Jackman, who is playing his first tournament on the circuit, started in New Zealand's second game as they dispatched Japan 54-0 and the 23-year-old dotted down for his first try in the black jersey.

New Zealand's strong form in pool play guaranteed them a spot in tomorrow's quarterfinals as they bid to claim back-to-back titles. The hosts finished off the night with a convincing 19-7 win over Samoa to finish the day unbeaten and will face France in the knockout phase tomorrow.

They will be joined in the knockout stages by Samoa, who were also a dominant force in Pool A, while South Africa and England emerged unscathed from pool B.

The other debutant in Tietjens' squad alongside Jackman is Wellingtonian Ardie Savea, the younger brother of Hurricanes wing Julian Savea.

Savea touched down for a popular try in the victory over Scotland, while few cheers during the day were louder than when All Black Hosea Gear crossed for two five-pointers against Japan.

The hulking wing played for the Hurricanes and Wellington from 2004-2011 and although the 27-year-old will turn out for the Highlanders in this year's Super Rugby competition he remains a crowd favourite in the capital.

New Zealand share first place in the World Sevens Series alongside Fiji and have targeted this weekend's tournament - the fourth in the series - to move ahead of their Pacific Island rivals.

The biggest party in the capital got underway in traditional fashion with plenty of colour, costumes and partying by revellers of all ages at Westpac Stadium.

Punters were also given the opportunity to see what the women's game in New Zealand had to offer as two invitational teams played an exhibition game as the country builds towards fielding a side in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janerio.