RIO DE JANEIRO Dual rugby global, heavyweight boxing champion and rugby sevens Olympian – Sonny Bill Williams has always forged his own particular path through the sporting landscape and it has almost always ended up in success.
Advertisement
The injury is likely to sideline Williams for the rest of year, ruling him out of the Rugby Championship, New Zealand’s November Tour and nearly certainly meaning a delayed start to his career at his third Super Rugby club, the Auckland Blues.
New Zealand had a missed American conversion to thank as they scraped into the maiden Olympic rugby sevens quarter-finals by a solitary point on points difference.
A despondent Williams was taken to a hospital and medical tests showed a partially ruptured Achilles tendon, which is expected to keep him on the sidelines for up to nine months, ruling him out for the All Blacks in 2016.
“It was disappointing, it’s obviously the first time Japan have beaten us”, he said.
It was a day when Great Britain remained unscathed as shocks and drama unfolded all around them on a spectacular opening day at Deodoro Stadium.
Australia’s rugby sevens star Charlotte Caslick has suggested coaching guru Ric Charlesworth try playing the sport after labelling the Olympic women’s competition a “soft event”.
“Getting to the Olympics in itself is an achievement but to knock out New Zealand along the way is pretty special”, he said. “Both influential players as well, got some outstanding qualities that I needed”.
“The Olympics is the mecca of sports, so we had to not let it get into our heads”, Fiji’s Osea Kolinisau said after scoring seven points in the win.
The organization had a new website ready to go – TryRugby.ca – that allows curious young women (or men) to enter their addresses and register directly with their nearest club. Sione Molia was called in to replace Williams. The United States beat France 19-5, after a come-from-behind 12-7 win over Fiji, to secure fifth place.
“There’s no pressure on us, the pressure’s on the big teams, they are the ones supposed to be winning the medals, not us”.
Each tournament is played across three days and involved 12 teams.
‘We had a family day in Sydney and all the parents got together and celebrated and they all promised each other they’d get tattoos if their daughters won gold.
“He’s a great professional”, said Tietjens. Now 39, Mackenzie says she was hooked by the physicality and competitiveness of the game from the first time she stepped on the pitch.
Advertisement
“I won’t use injuries as an excuse”.
