The inaugural Women's Rugby World Cup Sevens kicked off on Friday and there was some pulsating action on show for the spectators.
Three teams ended the day unbeaten and will be brimming with confidence heading into their respective Cup quarter finals on Saturday.
Neither England nor New Zealand conceded any points, while Spain overcame Canada, Brazil and Thailand.
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Pool A
Australia and China kicked off the historic first game in the competition, with Australia triumphing 50-12, Tricia Brown and Bo De la Cruz showing their class with hat-tricks. The pool turned out to be the most hotly contested, with all four teams still in the race for the Cup quarter finals going into the final round of pool matches on four points.
As it turned out, France came from behind to win 19-5 against China, with tries from Celine Allainment, Anais Lagougine and Fanny Horta. France will play USA in the first of the Cup quarter finals.
Australia beat the Netherlands 32-0, thanks to four tries from Debby Hodgkinson, to book their Cup quarter-final spot. The Netherlands will play Russia in the fourth Bowl quarter final.
Pool B
The top seeds England also came through unscathed from day one and will play second seeds Australia in the standout Cup quarter final. Their 17-0 victory over USA, with captain Sue Day inspiring her team-mates with two tries, got them off to the perfect start.
Charlotte Barras was the player of the match in their second game, helping to see off Russia 29-0 with a brace. Simon Amor's women had to wait until the last match of the day to complete their pool, scoring seven tries against Japan to win 47-0.
With England remaining unbeaten, the second place for the Cup quarter finals was up for grabs in the match between Russia and USA. Jess Watkins scored two first-half tries to secure the spot for the Americans.
Japan's Ryoko Tsuboi bagged a brace in front of thousands of spectators on Pitch 1 in their 31-10 defeat by Russia. Grant Doorey's team will play China in the first Bowl quarter final in an all-Asian affair.
Pool C
Spain beat Brazil 21-0 in their opening match, with tries from Marta Pocurull, Julia Pla and Marina Bravo completing a great start to the tournament for the Spanish.
In their second match, they defeated Canada 12-0, Barbara Pla and Berta Garcia crossing the whitewash. The Spanish defence was finally breached by Thailand in their last match, but Garcia and Pocurull both grabbed their second tries of the tournament. The Spaniards will face South Africa in the third Cup quarter final.
Ashley Patzer became the second Canadian to score a hat-trick of tries on day one. Patzer put on a dazzling performance on Pitch 1 in the 38-0 victory over Brazil that guaranteed them the second Cup quarter final spot.
Brazil's Natasha Olsen's late try secured a 12-10 victory over Thailand in the closest encounter. The Brazilians will play Uganda in the third Bowl quarter final tomorrow, while Thailand will meet Italy in the second.
Pool D
New Zealand, who will play Canada in the second Cup quarter final, beat Uganda 50-0 in their opening match, with Rachel Wikeepa's double the highlight. Linda Itunu scored a first-half hat-trick in the 45-0 win over Italy before Carla Hohepa and Julie Ferguson bagged braces in overcoming South Africa.
South Africa overcame Italy 17-5 in the second encounter of the pool, with Tash Hofmeester scoring two. In their match on Pitch 1, they defeated Uganda 26-0, with Hofmeester scoring her third of the campaign and ensuring they qualified for the Cup quarter finals.
The third-place decider came on Pitch 2 between Uganda and Italy, Silvia Pizzati and Sara Baratin crossing for Italy. Justine Bayiga scored an individual try, the first RWC Sevens try for Uganda.
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