Tokyo Olympics: China produce best-ever performance to finish seventh in women’s rugby sevens as New Zealand grab gold
- Mackintosh’s team beat higher-ranked Russian Olympic Committee in a 22-10 comeback
- France unable to match New Zealand’s intensity in final as reigning champions Australia finish fifth
China capped an impressive debut Olympic campaign with a 22-10 win over the Russian Olympic Committee to finish seventh overall at the Tokyo Stadium on Saturday.
World Sevens Series and World Cup Sevens champions New Zealand, who lost the 2016 final in Rio to Australia, won the gold medal with a 26-12 win over France.
China completed a stunning comeback against the Russians, who qualified after winning their place at the last-minute repechage in June, after trailling 10-0 within the first five minutes. Playmaker Wang Wanyu got on the scoresheet to bring them back into contention at half-time.
Coach Euan Mackintosh’s squad made their intention clear in the second half with captain Yang Min scoring after the kick-off, then Xu Xiaoyan extended their lead. A yellow card handed to Daria Shestakova caused havoc in the Russians’ defence as China piled on the pressure.
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Star player Chen Keyi broke through the line to put the game beyond doubt with a minute to go, handing them their biggest achievement in women’s rugby sevens.
Chen finished joint-eighth in the individual points scorers with 27. Tang Minglin, who scored important tries to get China into the latter rounds, and Wang were China’s top try-scorers with four each. As a team, China matched Fiji with 17 tries in total, though they will need to reinforce their defensive statistics after finishing on a -22 points difference.
In the 2019 and 2020 World Rugby Sevens Series world rankings, Russia finished seventh and 11th, respectively, compared to China’s 11th and 13th. The result will likely improve their chances in becoming a mainstay in future Series competitions.
The New Zealanders had some close calls on the way to the final, including a golden-point, extra time semi-final win over Fiji, who then beat Great Britain 21-12 in the bronze medal match.
