Kiwis extend Commonwealth streak
New Zealand extended its Commonwealth Games winning streak in Sevens to 27 matches with a 17-14 win over hosts Scotland on Saturday.
New Zealand led 17-0 with five minutes remaining before the home side pulled close with two late tries and with two New Zealand players sent off.
"We knew it was going to be tough as Scotland had the home support behind them," said New Zealand captain D.J. Forbes.
"There were a few decisions that could have gone either way during the game and we had to defend with five backs at the end, so we've done well," he added.
With an earlier win over Canada, New Zealand qualified for Sunday's medal round. More than 185,000 Sevens tickets have been sold, including a sellout Sunday.
New Zealand has won all four previous Commonwealth Games golds. Sevens will debut as an Olympic sport in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro.
Cup (medal) quarterfinals
New Zealand v Kenya
Australia v Wales
Samoa v England
South Africa v Scotland
Bowl quarterfinals
Canada v T&T
Uganda v Malaysia
PNG v Sri Lanka
Cook Islands v Barbados
Pool A – New Zealand, Canada, Scotland, Barbados
Sir Gordon Tietjens' side began their fifth Games campaign with a 39-0 victory against Canada thanks to two tries apiece from captain DJ Forbes and Ben Lam, before Sherwin Stowers scored twice in an enthralling 17-14 defeat of Scotland and a final win, 59-0, against Barbados.
The defending champions New Zealanders were most uncomfortable against Scotland. Leading 17-0 in the second half they conceded two tries to Lee Jones but held on for a 17-14 win.
If Scotland almost upset the favourites in that, their first match, they turned on the style in their second by beating Barbados 56-0.
The hosts now face a decisive match with Canada, the winner of which will join New Zealand in the quarter finals. After that initial chastening loss to New Zealand, the Canadians bounced back to beat the Bajans 68-5, captain John Moonlight scoring two tries and Nathan Hirayama adding 17 points.
Pool B – South Africa, Kenya, Cook Islands, Trinidad and Tobago
Seabelo Senatla scored a hat-trick in both of South Africa's first two games and another in their decisive win against Kenya as the Delhi bronze medalists topped their pool.
The BlitzBokke beat Trinidad and Tobago 38-0 and Cook Islands 50-0 to win a place in the medal quarter finals and then outclassed Kenya to win 20-0 in the final game of the first day.
Recently capped Springbok Cornal Hendricks scored a second half hat trick in a little over one minute against the Cooks as the BlitzBokke built momentum and caught the eye on day one.
Two tries from Collins Injera helped Kenya to their opening 28-0 win against the Cook Islands and they then recorded a 35-5 win against T&T in the second session to book their place in the medal knock-out stages.
The Cooks beat Trinidad and Tobago 33-10 with James Raea scoring a hat-trick.
Pool C – Samoa, Wales, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia
With former captains Lolo Lui and Afa Aiono back in the side, Samoa scored two opening victories to guarantee themselves a place in the quarterfinals on Day Two, still in medal contention. Early on they beat fellow Oceania side Papua New Guinea 33-14 and in the second session they eased to a 54-0 win against Malaysia.
They next face Wales, who are also still in the hunt for medals on day two after a 52-0 win against Malaysia and a 29-7 win over PNG.
Earlier the Papua New Guineans bounced back from their opening defeat to beat Malaysia 36-7, Albert Levi scoring twice, and their try against Wales also brought the biggest cheer from the generous crowd.
Pool D – England, Australia, Sri Lanka, Uganda
England won their first match of the second session, 40-0 against Uganda, to join Australia at the top of the Pool D table. Both sides won handsome victories against the two relative minnows to guarantee their places in the quarterfinals, but now face each other later in the day for the top spot in the group.
Simon Amor's England had earlier beaten Sri Lanka 57-0 with Dan Norton, captain Tom Mitchell, Phil Burgess and James Rodwell all scoring two tries.
2010 silver medalists Australia scored two wins in the opening session, beating Sri Lanka 62-7 with to 27 points from Cameron Clark also proved too strong for Uganda, Greg Jeloudev scoring four tries in a 43-5 win.
Day One results:
New Zealand 39-0 Canada
Australia 62-7 Sri Lanka
Kenya 28-0 Cook Islands
Samoa 33-14 Papua New Guinea
Wales 52-0 Malaysia
South Africa 36-0 Trinidad and Tobago
Canada 68-5 Barbados
Australia 43-5 Uganda
England 57-0 Sri Lanka
New Zealand 17-14 Scotland
Papua New Guinea 36-7 Malaysia
Cook Islands 33-10 Trinidad and Tobago
Scotland 56-0 Barbados
England 40-0 Uganda
Wales 29-7 Papua New Guinea
Samoa 54-0 Malaysia
South Africa 50-0 Cook Islands
Kenya 35-5 Trinidad and Tobago
New Zealand 59-0 Barbados
Sri Lanka 14-17 Uganda
Canada 5-21 Scotland
Samoa 19-12 Wales
England 7-15 Australia
South Africa 20-0 Kenya
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