Rugby sevens: All Blacks Sevens cruise into Vancouver quarter-finals

Akuila Rokolisoa of the All Blacks Sevens. Photo / Getty

The All Blacks Sevens have eased into the quarter-finals at the Vancouver Sevens with three wins on the opening day to top their group.

New Zealand cruised with a 40-14 win over Japan followed by a 38-5 victory over Wales.

They came up against a spirited Samoa side in the final game to decide the group C winner.

Samoa were reduced to six men for most of the match after Paul Scanlan was sent off for a high tackle but they pushed New Zealand for most of the contest.

New Zealand eventually won 31-24 to book a clash against France in the quarterfinals. The All Blacks Sevens will be hoping Moses Leo will be fit for the second day of action after he limped off in the early stages of the Samoa win.

New Zealand took immediate advantage of Samoa being down to six men by finding the extra player out wide as Caleb Tangitau ran in for the opening try. Regan Ware added a second a few minutes later to give New Zealand a 10-0 lead, as it looked they would run away with the contest.

But Samoa showed great fight with Steve Rimoni scoring an impressive individual try from long distance to reduce the lead to 10-7 before Akuila Rokolisoa scored in injury time to give New Zealand a 10-point lead at the break.

Samoa managed to outscore New Zealand in the second half with a Vaa Apelu Maliko double and another try to Owen Fetu.

Samoa will play group D winners Argentina in the quarter-finals while the other group matches are yet to be completed.

In the early games, New Zealand shared the tries around with six different scorers in both wins against Japan and Wales.