The Spanish were seeking to emulate their male counterparts by securing the only available qualifying  slot in the 16-team tournament.

They began by beating Tunisia 38-0 in Pool B before a 45-0 thrashing of Venezuela.

Their quarter-final spot was secured with a second 38-0 win, this time over Mexico.

Tunisia recovered from their opening defeat by beating Mexico 22-0 and Venezuela 17-10 to seal the second spot in the group.

Kazakhstan were another team to impress on the opening day of action by registering three straight victories in Pool D.

They began with a 36-5 victory of Argentina before tighters wins over Hong Kong and Cook Islands, 21-12 and 12-5 respectively.

It was the Argentinians who joined them in the quarter-finals, however, with a thrilling 17-15 win over Hong Kong following a similarly tight 17-12 victory against the Cook Islands.

Hosts Ireland beat fellow qualifiers China in their final match to win Pool C, with Portugal and Trinidad and Tobago each missing out.

Russia thrashed Samoa 47-0 to win Pool A.

Samoa did do enough to qualify second, however, ahead of Zimbabwe and Madagascar.

Knockout matches will begin ahead of the final tomorrow.

The winning team will join hosts Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Great Britain, the United States, Colombia, France, Fiji, Japan and Kenya at Rio 2016.