The quarter-final match-ups have been confirmed at the Olympic Games, following the Ireland Men's late 14-12 defeat to New Zealand at a packed-out Stade de France.
Match Photos - New Zealand 14 Ireland Men 12
Well-taken tries from Zac Ward and Jordan Conroy gave Ireland a 12-point half-time lead in the Pool A decider, albeit that Conroy unfortunately had to hobble off soon after.
Leroy Carter cut the gap to five points for New Zealand, but Ireland were left to rue a missed opportunity when Terry Kennedy had a try ruled out from a five-metre tap penalty. In response, Andrew Knewstubb forced a relieving penalty for the top seeds.
Knewstubb went on to have a crucial say for the All Blacks Sevens. He knocked over the match-winning conversion after a late attacking surge saw Ngarohi McGarvey-Black cross from close range.
The result means James Topping's side will play defending champions Fiji, who topped Pool C, in a mouth-watering quarter-final at 10pm local time/9pm Irish time (live on RTÉ 2/BBC iPlayer & Red Button/Eurosport 2).
Ireland lost 26-21 to Fiji after extra-time when they met in the pool stages of the HSBC SVNS Grand Final in Madrid last month. They were victorious, though, at both the Perth and Vancouver legs, triumphing 24-7 and 24-19 respectively.
It has been a tightly-contested first half across four of their six meetings this season with scores level or within the margin of a converted try.
Despite Fiji finishing sixth in the SVNS Series standings, four places behind Ireland, their form has been impressive in Paris so far with pool wins over Uruguay (40-12), the USA (38-12), and tournament hosts France (19-12).
Giving his reaction after losing out to New Zealand, Hugo Keenan said: "Yeah, we're disappointed, definitely. We obviously came out strongly, putting in that first half performance that we were looking for.
"We just didn't back it up, we made a few mistakes - and not taking a few crucial chances that we could have to put it to bed.
"But at the same time we're exactly where we are, where we want to be in a quarter-final, competing for a medal. It's a huge opportunity and we're really excited.
"We'll review it now. It's a short turnaround, I suppose that's the beauty of Sevens. You can put it behind you pretty quickly, you're not waiting around the full week to right a few wrongs.
"So, there's plenty of learnings, plenty of bits to improve on in that performance. We'll definitely need to if we want to go further into the semis.
"Fiji have obviously got the experience, but the lads will take good confidence that we've competed against them all year, and we can compete with any team in the competition if we get our systems right, if we play to our potential and put in a performance that we know are capable of."
Kicking off day two against the Tokyo 2020 silver medallists, Ireland were first to threaten. A Mark Roche kick from a penalty put them deep inside the opposition 22, yet the strike move off the lineout was spoiled by a Keenan knock-on, in between two defenders.
Captain Dylan Collier sparked the New Zealand attack into life with a well-executed break near the right touchline, only for Akuila Rokolisoa to make a handling error past halfway.
The table toppers' indiscipline continued to invite Ireland forward, nonetheless, and Ward made them pay. His stop-start run, with a deceptive burst of acceleration, took him past Fehi Fineanganofo for a terrific try to the right of the posts.
Although Roche's 30-metre conversion effort missed the target, Ireland squeezed in a second try before the interval. Ward hunted down Roche's restart kick in impressive fashion, and a penalty advantage saw Kennedy snipe from the back of a ruck.
The Ireland playmaker cut infield and combined with a jinking Conroy who crashed over under the challenge of Moses Leo. The Tullamore man appeared to injure himself in the act of scoring and had to be replaced at the start of the second half.
Despite Roche converting to open up a 12-0 advantage, New Zealand fired back within seconds of the restart. Carter broke Kennedy's initial tackle and had the pace to evade both Hugo Lennox and Ward, with Rokolisoa swiftly tagging on the extras.
Ireland responded well, with Jack Kelly bringing some good impact off the bench. He drew a high tackle from Fineanganofo, and the penalty took Topping's men back to just outside the New Zealand 22.
They duly got within try-scoring range again thanks to a strong run from Niall Comerford. The All Blacks Sevens infringed, but Kennedy's attempts to tap and go - he made it over the line from one of them - were called back by referee Jordan Way.
Ultimately it was New Zealand's replacements who proved the more influential. Knewstubb's turnover penalty, having isolated Kelly on the ground, saw them turn defence into attack.
Tepaea Cook-Savage gobbled up the metres and Ireland were suddenly missing tackles, pulling them back into their own 22. McGarvey-Black made it over from a close-in ruck inside the final minute, and a coolly-struck Knewstubb conversion split the posts.
Regaining possession from a long restart, Ireland managed to make it back up to halfway. However, New Zealand won the breakdown battle to seal a hard-fought result, which sees them paired with pool rivals South Africa in the last-eight.
Ireland lost 26-21 to Fiji after extra-time when they met in the pool stages of the HSBC SVNS Grand Final in Madrid last month. They were victorious, though, at both the Perth and Vancouver legs, triumphing 24-7 and 24-19 respectively.
It has been a tightly-contested first half across four of their six meetings this season with scores level or within the margin of a converted try.
Despite Fiji finishing sixth in the SVNS Series standings, four places behind Ireland, their form has been impressive in Paris so far with pool wins over Uruguay (40-12), the USA (38-12), and tournament hosts France (19-12).
Giving his reaction after losing out to New Zealand, Hugo Keenan said: "Yeah, we're disappointed, definitely. We obviously came out strongly, putting in that first half performance that we were looking for.
"We just didn't back it up, we made a few mistakes - and not taking a few crucial chances that we could have to put it to bed.
"But at the same time we're exactly where we are, where we want to be in a quarter-final, competing for a medal. It's a huge opportunity and we're really excited.
"We'll review it now. It's a short turnaround, I suppose that's the beauty of Sevens. You can put it behind you pretty quickly, you're not waiting around the full week to right a few wrongs.
"So, there's plenty of learnings, plenty of bits to improve on in that performance. We'll definitely need to if we want to go further into the semis.
"Fiji have obviously got the experience, but the lads will take good confidence that we've competed against them all year, and we can compete with any team in the competition if we get our systems right, if we play to our potential and put in a performance that we know are capable of."
Kicking off day two against the Tokyo 2020 silver medallists, Ireland were first to threaten. A Mark Roche kick from a penalty put them deep inside the opposition 22, yet the strike move off the lineout was spoiled by a Keenan knock-on, in between two defenders.
Captain Dylan Collier sparked the New Zealand attack into life with a well-executed break near the right touchline, only for Akuila Rokolisoa to make a handling error past halfway.
The table toppers' indiscipline continued to invite Ireland forward, nonetheless, and Ward made them pay. His stop-start run, with a deceptive burst of acceleration, took him past Fehi Fineanganofo for a terrific try to the right of the posts.
Although Roche's 30-metre conversion effort missed the target, Ireland squeezed in a second try before the interval. Ward hunted down Roche's restart kick in impressive fashion, and a penalty advantage saw Kennedy snipe from the back of a ruck.
The Ireland playmaker cut infield and combined with a jinking Conroy who crashed over under the challenge of Moses Leo. The Tullamore man appeared to injure himself in the act of scoring and had to be replaced at the start of the second half.
Despite Roche converting to open up a 12-0 advantage, New Zealand fired back within seconds of the restart. Carter broke Kennedy's initial tackle and had the pace to evade both Hugo Lennox and Ward, with Rokolisoa swiftly tagging on the extras.
Ireland responded well, with Jack Kelly bringing some good impact off the bench. He drew a high tackle from Fineanganofo, and the penalty took Topping's men back to just outside the New Zealand 22.
They duly got within try-scoring range again thanks to a strong run from Niall Comerford. The All Blacks Sevens infringed, but Kennedy's attempts to tap and go - he made it over the line from one of them - were called back by referee Jordan Way.
Ultimately it was New Zealand's replacements who proved the more influential. Knewstubb's turnover penalty, having isolated Kelly on the ground, saw them turn defence into attack.
Tepaea Cook-Savage gobbled up the metres and Ireland were suddenly missing tackles, pulling them back into their own 22. McGarvey-Black made it over from a close-in ruck inside the final minute, and a coolly-struck Knewstubb conversion split the posts.
Regaining possession from a long restart, Ireland managed to make it back up to halfway. However, New Zealand won the breakdown battle to seal a hard-fought result, which sees them paired with pool rivals South Africa in the last-eight.