New Zealand are one step closer to back-to-back crowns at the Wellington Sevens after they defeated France 22-7 in a damp quarter-final this afternoon.
After breezing through Pool A, the Kiwis were stunned early on by France who opened the scoring inside the first minute through Renaud Delmas.
That try sparked the home side in to gear though and Waikato's Tim Mikkelson scored in the next minute of the game.
France came through the group stages with a win, a loss and a draw, but showed plenty of fight against New Zealand; although once they had a man sent to the sin bin in the second spell, Gordon Tietjens' men were home and hosed.
Frank Halai crossed late in the game to secure victory, which added to earlier five-pointers from Hosea Gear and Charles Piutau.
