New Zealand avenges Rio loss with first Olympic gold in rugby

New Zealand claimed gold in rugby sevens, defeating France 26-12 on Saturday.

The victory served as redemption for New Zealand, who lost to Australia in the 2016 gold-medal game in Rio, the first Olympics for the sport.

“I will never forget the person I was when we won silver because I have had a complete change in the person I was then in order to win this gold,” New Zealand star Ruby Tui said after Saturday’s win.

No words fam🙏🏽
Keep getting up and fighting your battles because you are worth it💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/Zb1cygTz3y

— Rubes Tui (@rubytui) July 31, 2021

Fiji joined New Zealand and France on the podium after defeating Great Britain in the bronze-medal game.

The United States finished sixth, losing to Australia 17-7 in a game coach Chris Brown called a “missed opportunity.”

“And that guts me,” he said, “because we played nine quarterfinals over the last year, and it’s the first one we lost.”