Fiji's men proved they are much better with ball in hand than with their feet Wednesday as the Pacific Islanders' rugby sevens team bore down on delivering Olympic gold, whilst its footballers were tonked 10-0 by Germany.

The two-time defending World Sevens Series champions ended a miserable first Games experience for the New Zealand sevens team by inflicting their third defeat in four matches 12-7 to move into Thursday's semi-finals.

One more win will guarantee Fiji a first ever medal at the Olympics, but expectations are high that the island's rugby heroes will return home with gold draped around their necks.

By contrast, the footballers' fortune in qualifying for the Games turned into a nightmare as they begin a long journey home having conceded 23 times in three matches in Brazil.

Fiji only made it to Brazil thanks to New Zealand's disqualification for fielding an ineligible player at last year's Pacific Games.

Freiburg's Nils Petersen scored five times to match the five Mexico struck on Sunday and eight South Korea racked in an unceremonious opening thrashing.

Fiji did at least avoid the ignominy of breaking the record Games defeat. A dubious honour held by France and Russia for 17-1 and 16-0 beatings at the hands of Denmark and Germany in 1908 and 1912 respectively.