Canberra rugby stars Sharni Williams and Corey Toole set for shot at Commonwealth Games glory

The Australian women's team looked to have their quest for gold derailed when they lost their final pool game.

Fiji proved too good for Williams' side, the Fijiana prevailing 19-12 in a physical encounter.

That set up a sudden-death semi-final showdown with New Zealand, the two favourites for gold meeting earlier than most had predicted.

As is so often the case when the fierce rivals clash, the match went down to the wire.

This time, however, it was Australia who atoned for their 2018 defeat and secured a come-from-behind 17-12 victory.

Maddison Levi was the star, scoring a hat-trick, including the match-winner with less than two minutes to play.

The win set up a rematch with Fiji, the two sides to play for gold on Monday morning at 5.38am AEST.

Toole's men's team still has work to do to progress to the final, but they remain on track after a tense day of action.

Needing a victory over Kenya to secure a place in the quarter-finals, the Brumbies talent crossed midway through the second half to hand his side a 7-5 lead.

Australia held on, booking a clash with an in-form Samoa in the next round.

Again, the contest was a physical, hard-fought affair, the two teams locked at 0-0 at half-time.

This time Matthew Gonzalez proved the match-winner, crossing a minute into the second half to hand his side a 7-0 lead.

Samoa threatened to break through on a number of occasions, but Australia's defence stood tall to secure the win.

Australia will now play South Africa in the semi-final on Sunday night at 10.04pm AEST.

The men in green and gold are set to receive a major boost, with Wallabies star Samu Kerevi likely to be fit after suffering a minor knee injury in the win over Kenya.

Rugby sevens heavyweights New Zealand and Fiji will face off in the other semi-final.

The bronze-medal match will be held on Monday morning at 5.12am, with the gold-medal match at 6.04am.

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