Gayle Broughton celebrates scoring a try. Photo / Getty
Gayle Broughton celebrates scoring a try. Photo / Getty
After suffering an agonising final defeat at Rio 2016, the Black Ferns Sevens were comforted by a compatriot who knew their pain.
Five years later, as they remain of track to add gold to the silver they settled for then, that same athlete has become a source of inspiration.
TheBlack Ferns Sevens tonight stormed into the medal round at Tokyo 2020 with a 36-0 quarter-final victory over the Russians, a win that came hours after the players watched their Olympic teammates strike gold on the rowing course.
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And Tyla Nathan-Wong said they were particularly thrilled to see Emma Twigg triumph in the single sculls, given the shared history between the group.
"It was quite emotional, actually," Nathan-Wong said of the rowers' succes. "We got to watch Emma Twigg and I remember her last Olympics finishing fourth, and she was the person who lifted our spirits when we did lose that final.
"So to see her after 20 years of hard work being rewarded with that gold was pretty amazing."
Twigg would undoubtedly say the same of this sevens team after they set up a semifinal clash with Fiji, who knocked out Australia in tonight's second quarter-final.
That denied New Zealand a chance to avenge their loss to Australia in the gold medal match at Rio, but the Kiwis will care little about that.
Especially since they stayed in such formidable form in the search for this country's first sevens gold medal - and this particular side would be more than worthy of that accolade.
Gayle Broughton celebrates scoring a try. Photo / Getty
They were certainly far too strong for the Russians, again. New Zealand came close to eliminating the Russian team in pool play - if they had scored one more point in their 33-0 victory this afternoon ROC would have missed out on a quarter-final spot on points difference - but they had no problem knocking them out at the second time of asking.
"It's a strange one," said Nathan-Wong. "We knew that they would probably have been a little bit disappointed with their first performance, so we knew that they were probably going to come out here really tough and with nothing to lose.
"So, with that mindset, we knew we had to step up and do the basics right, and I think we did."
That began after only 15 seconds, when an unforced error gave New Zealand a chance to pounce deep in Russian territory and Theresa Fitzpatrick crossed all too easily.
After a second scrum near the line the Kiwi side changed their point of attack but the result was the same, as Gayle Broughton scored untouched.
The lethal Michaela Blyde soon added a third - her sixth try of the tournament - and at 17-0 the game was over as a contest before halftime.
The second spell was more of the same as Portia Woodman showed far too much agility and speed to score a double, sandwiched around a Ruby Tui try, as New Zealand closed out victory with ease.
The one-sided fashion of two wins over the same opposition could raise concerns the Black Ferns Sevens would be in danger of being underdone for the medal round.
On the other hand, as they showed in last night's dramatic comeback against Great Britain, this team are well accustomed to win any type of match no matter the opposition.
"I don't think anything changes," Nathan-Wong said of the semifinal. "You still bring that same mentality, you put your best foot forward and work together as a team. You've just got to put it down a little bit harder."
