Two of the most successful teams in international rugby history will battle for the men’s gold medal in Olympic rugby sevens on Wednesday as New Zealand takes on Fiji at Tokyo Stadium.
Both teams have gone a perfect 5-0 so far in the Olympic rugby tournament so far. New Zealand defeated Canada 21-10 in the quarterfinals, before scoring a 29-7 blowout over Great Britain to advance to the gold medal game.
Fiji started the knockout rounds with a 19-0 blanking of Australia. Argentina then gave the Fijians a test in the semifinals, taking a 14-12 lead at halftime. But Fiji stormed back in the second half to ultimately win 26-14, keeping its hopes of back-to-back Olympic gold medals alive.
FT: Fiji 🇫🇯 26-14 🇦🇷 Argentina. Fiji will play New Zeland 🇳🇿in the GOLD MEDAL🥇match at 9pm tonight! 🇫🇯ðŸ™ðŸ¾ #Rugby #Olympics #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/vZKwItAigX
— Fiji 7s Team (@Fiji7sTeam) July 28, 2021
To do so, however, Fiji will have to knock off a strong rival in the final. FanDuel Sportsbook rates Fiji as the -134 pick to beat New Zealand (+110) in the gold medal game. The Fijians also stand as a 1.5-point favorite in spread betting.
Fiji and New Zealand met in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Olympic rugby tournament. Fiji won that matchup 12-7, denying New Zealand of a medal in Rio. Now, New Zealand is guaranteed to win its first medal in men’s Olympic rugby. Meanwhile, Fiji will win the second medal – in any sport – in its Olympic history, and could make it back-to-back golds.
Meanwhile, Great Britain will take on Argentina in the bronze medal game. Great Britain beat Argentina 5-0 in extra time in the 2016 Olympic quarterfinals, and would go on to win silver that year. The British team enters as a -160 favorite over Argentina (+130) and is a 1.5-point favorite on the spread.
