Team GB forward James Davies has praised Fiji and insists he is pleased for them after winning gold in the rugby sevens.
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“I just thank god.and I thank the International Rugby Board for having faith in me and other former rugby players, going to the International Olympic Committee and bidding for rugby to be in the Olympics”. “A bit disappointed that we got this close”.
“I definitely think it says something about girls and boys”.
He played a part in the leadup to a try for Jerry Tuwai as the Fijians spread the ball from side-to-side and went within a meter of scoring before he was dragged down.
Fiji put in a disciplined display to win 43-7 with a converted try by Dan Norton only proving a consolation. As much as he misses Griffin Park, his local curry house, a pint with friends and family, he insisted: ” I miss London, but I could happily work anywhere in the world. “Perhaps now is not the right time to move on but I need time to think”. I’ll have to look at the video but it’s done now.
“Whenever they score a try, they are giving glory back to God”.
“Fiji picked us off pretty well at the kick-offs, but if we’d held on to a few more tackles the game would have been different”.
“It’s the first time to play this tournament, so this is a proud moment for us”.
“I wish I was playing”. Usually when we start tournaments, we aren’t able to win on the first day. It includes Ethiopian swimmer Robel Kiron Habte, one of the wonderful everymen of the Olympics with his slight paunch who swam his 100m freestyle heat slower than the American record for under-10s, but said it didn’t matter where he came – he just wanted to be famous.
Fiji produced a breathtaking performance that epitomised the pace, power and skill of their distinctive brand of rugby to become the first men’s Olympic sevens champions on 11 August, giving the Pacific island nation its first-ever Games medal.
Norton said: “It’s been an awesome journey”.
Ryan will step down from his role, with his mission accomplished, while Britain will return home as runners-up after a competition that also included sevens powerhouses such as New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.
The Fiji Village website reported that 51-year-old Peni Matai from the village of Serua had traveled by minibus from 2 a.m. Friday to be in Suva in time for the game.
United States captain Kelly Griffin said the Olympics highlighted how the game is growing. While rugby games didn’t sell out tickets, the Brazilian fans who went to the stadiums were always on the side of the Fijian underdogs.
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“We were lucky enough to pull it off in such spectacular fashion”.
