Coach Michael O'Connor could only grasp at the what-could-have-beens as his brave Australian sevens side showed it's not just the Wallabies who struggle to hold a lead over New Zealand.

The Australians looked set for a massive upset and a historic Commonwealth Games gold medal in the second half of their rugby sevens finals clash at Delhi University before the defending champions stormed back to snatch a thrilling encounter 24-17.

From 17-7 up with seven minutes left, the Aussies conceded two Kiwi tries and the lead (19-17) before grassing a prime chance to win the match with 66 seconds left.

Few felt the pain much more than dual international O'Connor who thought the gold was coming his team's way when Nick Phipps burst through and had Robbie Coleman and Liam Gill in support.

Phipps failed to find Coleman on his inside and took the tackle but his off-load to Gill spilled out low to the ground and the tenacious forward, a star of the future with the Queensland Reds, failed to hold on.

"We had a chance to win that game with that dropped ball," said the coach. "I saw him going under the posts.

"If we score under the posts with a minute to go (the score is 24-19) and I think we have the capacity to take the restart and shut the game out but there are lots of ifs and buts."

Gill said: "I'm only 18 and I had a lot of fun out there but to go down like that it hurts."

It was a familiar feeling for Australian rugby fans who have watched the All Blacks come from behind to steal wins over the Wallabies with monotonous regularity over the past three years.

O'Connor could also lament the normally-reliable James Stannard, a superb playmaker, missing two of his three angled conversions plus a certain early try being called back when the referee made him surprisingly retake a quick penalty tap.

"We came over here to win gold and that was my expectation but we came very close and in sevens things turn on a sixpence," he said.

"All I can say is all our boys gave it everything, there was a no petrol in the tank, and I'm proud of them.

"Our defence was outstanding and it was the thing that really stood us apart (in the tournament)."

While the New Zealanders celebrated their fourth straight Games sevens gold medal with a string of hakas, Australia consoled themselves with silver being their best ever result.

The previous best was bronze when David Campese captained the 1998 side in Kuala Lumpur.

To get there Australia, who had to play without injured playmaker Bernard Foley (ankle) beat surprise-packets Kenya in the quarter-finals 27-5 before shutting down eventual bronze medallists South Africa 17-7 in their semi-final.

Wallabies winger Lachie Turner, regarded as the fastest footballer in the land, was impressive throughout, scoring a try in four of his five games, including Australia's opener against New Zealand.

"I thought Lachie was great," O'Connor said. "It surprised him how tough the game is but it was a seamless transition.

"I think he's done his Wallabies aspirations no harm."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP