Tyla Nathan-Wong was injured in the Black Ferns Sevens' quarter-final win in Sydney. Photo / Getty Images
Tyla Nathan-Wong was injured in the Black Ferns Sevens' quarter-final win in Sydney. Photo / Getty Images
The Black Ferns Sevens could be without star Tyla Nathan-Wong for the third and final day of their tournament in Sydney this weekend.
The side's first-choice goal kicker, Nathan-Wong was injured in the team's only match on Saturday, a 17-7 quarter-final win over Canada, and had to be taken fromthe field.
The 24-year-old was set to have scans on an injured arm on Saturday evening to see the extent of the injury, but was yet to be ruled out of the tournament.
The Black Ferns Sevens will meet France in the semifinals as they look to continue their winning streak which dates back to the final of last year's tournament in Sydney.
While the women's side were well on their way to another title on the World Sevens Series, the All Blacks Sevens kicked off their campaign with a bang as well.
The men's squad conceded just 14 points - all against Wales - in their opening three matches, and posted an impressive 110 points of their own.
"It was probably our best footy today," Andrew Knewstubb said after the All Blacks Sevens' win over Scotland.
"We didn't handle the pressure quite the way we wanted to in Hamilton and hopefully we came out here today and redeemed ourselves. But tomorrow's a different day and we're going to have to bring our best game tomorrow if we want to take it out."
The All Blacks Sevens had to settle for third place in Hamilton last weekend, after being dismantled by the United States in their semifinal. Heading into the Sydney leg of the series, the New Zealand side sat in third in the overall standings, just three points behind the competition leaders, Fiji.
Catch up on the day's action for the New Zealand sides below:
Vilimoni Koroi of New Zealand makes a break to score at the Hamilton Sevens. Photo / Getty Images
The All Blacks Sevens got off to a good start this morning, toppling Wales in their first pool game 27-14.
The Black Ferns Sevens, whose competition started last night in Sydney, have continued their sizzling start to the season, claiming three dominant wins to top their pool.
Follow below for rolling updates on how the New Zealand teams are tracking.
5.21pm The All Blacks Sevens have crushed Spain 41-0 in their second game of pool play in Sydney. Just a week ago, the New Zealand side struggled to get through the Spainish defence, but in Sydney it was a different story.
Regan Ware's first minute try set the tone and when Sam Dickson crossed twice before halftime, the match was already out of Spain's grasp.
The New Zealanders outscored the Spaniards five tries to zero, in what was an impressive performance.
3.11pm The Black Ferns Sevens have reached the semifinals of the Sydney Sevens, beating Canada 17-7 in the quarter-finals.
First-half tries to Ruby Tui and Sarah Hirini lifted the Ferns to a 10-7 half-time lead, and Theresa Fitzpatrick sealed it in the second half.
1.52pm The Black Ferns Sevens will meet Canada in the quarter-finals. They'll be in action at 2.50pm today, with the women's leg of the tournament playing just one round of quarter-finals before finding a winner tomorrow.
In the men's field, New Zealand meet Spain just before 5pm, before ending their day of pool play with a match against Scotland.
Here's a recap of the women's action from last night:
The Black Ferns have kicked off their sevens season the same way they finished their last – with more wins.
The World Cup and Commonwealth Games winners haven't lost a game since falling to Australia in the final of the Sydney Sevens last year.
And after cruising to the Fast Four title in Hamilton on Sunday, the Black Ferns continued their hot form on their return to Sydney.
First, they took care of business in their tournament opener against Papua New Guinea in a 38-5 victory, overcoming a rocky start.
There was perhaps a touch of rustiness from the Kiwi side as PNG veteran Fatima Rama scored the first try of the match – a stunning 75m effort that she topped off with a front-flip celebration.
But New Zealand were quick to overturn the early scare through tries from Sarah Hirini and Nathan-Wong to take a 12-5 advantage into the break. It was plain sailing from then on as the Black Ferns piled on four more on a tiring PNG side.
It was a similar story in their second game of the day as the Black Ferns took a 31-7 win over France, who they also beat 31-0 in Sunday's Fast Four final.
France were able to keep it close early after France's Chloe Pelle cancelled out Michaela Blyde's opening try.
But again, the Black Ferns pulled away in the latter periods as Stacey Waaka, Gayle Broughton and Tyla Nathan-Wong crossed over to put them well in front.
As the final hooter sounded, Blyde turned up again on the left wing, as she did all of last year, to score the final try of the game to put an exclamation mark on the win.
The Black Ferns ended a successful day by thrashing England 29-0 in their third game. They will play their quarter-final match up on Saturday, with the semifinals and final concluding on Sunday.
