The Black Ferns Sevens have done what their New Zealand men's counterparts could not at the Paris Olympics, qualifying for a semifinal via a devastating mix of power, pace and experience.
The women have looked very good in blowing past China, Canada and Fiji in pool play, and China again in this morning's quarter-final, but it remains to be seen whether those qualities will be enough for the final two hurdles.
At the risk of looking too far ahead, their final opponents will almost certainly be Australia, if the Kiwis get past the United States in their semifinal tomorrow morning NZT.
New Zealand are the reigning Olympic champions and the Australians the reigning sevens series champions. The gold-medal clash between the two rivals, should it eventuate, will likely be epic.
The Aussies have also looked good in Paris — they thrashed Ireland 40-7 in their quarterfinal, and in Charlotte Caslick and Maddison Levi, they possess two of the game's biggest stars.
Levi's 11 tries so far in Paris broke Portia Woodman-Wickliffe's long-standing individual tournament try record. Australia play Canada in their semifinal.
The Black Ferns Sevens have won every game in Paris by a margin of at least 26 points, but the big question for Woodman-Wickliffe, Sarah Hirini and company is will they have the legs when it counts?
That's relevant because the All Blacks Sevens could not match South Africa's pace in their quarterfinal, despite beating them in pool play.
Veterans Scott Curry, 36, and Dylan Collier, 33, looked off the pace in the sudden-death match, although New Zealand were disadvantaged by the injuries to Ngarohi McGarvey-Black and Regan Ware that prevented them from taking the field against the 'Blitzboks'.
Curry and Collier were part of a line-up that bullied their opponents in pool play, but which couldn't capitalise on their chances, despite several clean breaks, in the quarterfinal.
Significantly, New Zealand's most effective player was Moses Leo, 26, who is likely the fastest man in the squad, and this emphasis on age and speed is likely to dominate NZ Rugby's post-Olympics review, after the men won a silver medal in Tokyo.
Woodman-Wickliffe, 33, is in her final campaign in a black jersey. The power hasn't diminished, but the pace clearly has.
Hirini, 31, is still finding her way at these Olympics after a knee injury that sidelined her since December. She was perhaps fortunate to be only sin-binned for an accidental head contact with a China attacker early in this morning's quarterfinal victory.
A red card would have ruled her out for the rest of the Games and likely put a different complexion on the match. China scored their only try straight after Hirini left the field.
With seven tries at this Games, speedster Michaela Blyde is New Zealand's best attacking weapon, but perhaps the most valuable player they possess is Jorja Miller, 20, a physical playmaker in the middle of the field, who can create opportunities via her defence or sleight of hand, and can finish too.
After the All Blacks sevens failure, there have been some comments about the 'brutality' of sport, including from former All Blacks skipper Sam Cane, who knows a bit about that.
Another gold medal for the Black Ferns Sevens would be a triumph of many things, including experience. A failure may put the spotlight on the age of some of New Zealand's athletes.
Such are the small margins at the top level.
Olympic sevens schedule
Semifinal: NZ v USA, Wednesday 1.30am NZT.
Semifinal: Australia v Canada, Wednesday 2am NZT.
Bronze medal playoff: TBC, Wednesday 5am NZT.
Gold medal playoff: TBC, Wednesday 5.45am NZT.
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