Rugby Sevens: NZ move through to semis

Sam Dickson scored. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand have breezed through to the semifinals of the Wellington sevens after a bruising 24-5 win over Australia at Westpac Stadium this afternoon.

The Kiwis looked much sharper than they did on day one and flew in to their work from the opening whistle.

Both sides were committed in the contact area and hit rucks with plenty of venom but New Zealand's polish on attack was too much for their neighbours from across the ditch.

Gillies Kaka, who was summoned to replace the injured Kurt Baker, bagged a double out on the wing, while Ben Lam and Sam Dickson also crossed the stripe.

The Kiwis also had their fair share of help from the officials who missed a clear forward pass that led to Dickson's try.

Australia were also forced to play two minutes of the game with only six men after Ben Adams was shown a yellow card for a late tackle on Tim Mikkelson when he seemed destined to regather his chip kick to score.

Tomasi Cama added a couple of conversions for the home side and Australia only managed a consolation try in the dying stages through Tom Cusack.

New Zealand will meet either Kenya or South Africa in the semifinals at 7pm.

New Zealand 24 (Gillies Kaka 2, Sam Dickson, Ben Lam tries; Tomasi Cama 2 con) Australia 5 (Tom Cusack try) HT: 14-0