NZealand set up England quarter at Gold Coast sevens

Defending World Series champions New Zealand set up a quarter-final against England after finishing the first day of the season-opening Gold Coast Sevens here on Friday unbeaten. Former Series winners Samoa and South Africa and reigning Rugby World Cup Sevens champions Wales also maintained 100 percent records, setting up quarter-final clashes against Australia, France and Fiji respectively. New Zealand, blooding four newcomers to the world circuit, dominated their pool, beating Kenya 26-5, Niue 38-0 and Fiji 28-5 as they set out in search of their 10th title in 13 years. South Africa recorded wins against USA, Japan and Australia, while 2010 champions Samoa beat Argentina 31-0 to help send France through to the quarter-finals. Harry Robinson scored twice as Wales surprised England 21-7 in the final Pool D match to reach the Cup quarter-finals as pool winners. South Africa coach Paul Treu was left with a potential headache, however, after key playmaker Cecil Afrika damaged a rib. The IRB Sevens player of the year had recovered from a broken jaw to take his place in the team, but was clearly troubled by a rib injury in the Boks' match against USA. "He is going for a scan, we will just wait and get feedback from our medical team," said Treu. "It is better to have him on the park and part of the Series. I don't want to pre-empt things but if he is fit to play and cleared by our medical team then he will definitely be picked. "We can be pleased with our performance. We didn't play to our best but the games were all physical, the breakdowns are such a contest. "All the teams have upped their games, the standard of sevens is much better than it used to be for the first leg. This will be a completely different ball game, there are just no easy games." New Zealand's Fiji-born vice-captain Lote Raikabula, instrumental behind the Kiwis' impressive opening day performance, said they would take nothing for granted against England on Saturday. "I am proud of the boys, we worked so hard to win that game and we worked so hard back home so I am glad we did it out there and it works," Raikabula said. "We are looking forward to playing against England, it will be tough, but we will rest tonight and front up tomorrow." He added: "There is always pressure for us when we put on the black jersey but we are a good bunch of boys. Pressure is good, we always have it, and we will have it against England, but we are used to playing under pressure."