Another World Cup winner in the longer format, Liam Messam, is on standby. Williams, twice a World Cup winner in the 15-man game, sustained the injury charging into a tackle but immediately indicated to the bench that he needed help. New Zealand's hopes of becoming the first Olympic rugby sevens champions has suffered a major setback after losing their opening match to Japan and Sonny Bill Williams for the tournament to an Achilles injury. In echoes of the victory of their team over South Africa at the Rugby World Cup last year, the Japanese showed no deference to the superpower of the international game. Teruya Goto and Kameli Soejima scored the tries for Japan and, crucially, Lemeki and Katsuyuki Sakai slotted the conversions.

Source: Otago Daily Times August 09, 2016 19:18 UTC