New Zealand have set up a rematch of last year’s final at the Gold Coast international sevens against Fiji after defeating Kenya in a tense semi-final encounter.
The Kiwis scored two unanswered second-half tries to win 15-5 and finally eliminate the plucky Africans, who had already knocked out hosts Australia and England on their march to the final four.
Another upset wasn’t out of the question at halftime in the semi-final after Oscar Ouma’s scorching run down the left touch-line had locked the scores up 5-5 at the break.
But New Zealand’s main try scorer for the tournament, Gareth William-Spiers, found the line again in the second half before experienced Tim Mikkelson sealed the win with his 86th try at sevens level for his country.
The Kiwis will be out for revenge against long-time sevens rivals Fiji after the Pacific Islanders beat NZ in last year’s Gold Coast final.
Fiji reached the final courtesy of a 21-10 win over South Africa in the other semi-final.
New Zealand are yet to put together a truly fluent display at the tournament but have shown enough to make the final, reaching the semis earlier in the day with a hard-fought win over Argentina.
Sunday’s final will be played at 7.04pm AEST (2204 NZDT).