They’re now the toast of the nation, but the Australian women’s rugby sevens team has caught the ire of one former Aussie Olympian.
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“They’ve been dominant in women’s rugby ever since we started playing”. It remains to be seen if the crowds for the men’s matches will be more robust, but the debut of Olympic rugby sevens was in all a resounding success.
“I think we’ve got enough big experience players for that not to have daunted us in any way”.
Several of the gold medal-winning squad joined the program following these camps, coming from sports such as rugby league, touch football, athletics and basketball.
“Give her a cricket ball and she’d bloody take six wickets”, Doran said.
“I am full [of] emotions after 22 years of lifting weights”. Plus, they earned a favorable finish to the tournament after dropping a 17-5 semi final decision to Australia on Monday, August 8.
With their gold medals proudly slung around their necks, Quirk and Caslick epitomise the Aussie Olympic spirit.
“It was a typical trans-Tasman battle”, Australia co-captain Shannon Parry said, referring to the intense sporting rivalry between her country and neighboring New Zealand.
“We’re just sorry we couldn’t bring them a medal”.
They threw pre-final barbs back in the face of Kiwi coach Sean Horan when they soaked up the pressure and returned fire on New Zealand’s attempts to “bash them” out of the final at Deodoro Stadium. “He’s not the only one because there’s a lot of teams that take us that way”. There were some defining calls that swung the game a little bit.
Fiji has competed at the Olympics since 1956 but never won a medal, although they’ve never had a chance to compete in the national sport at the Summer Games.
“I think it helps us. I just felt so proud and blessed to be from such an fantastic country”.
Canada convincingly won the bronze medal by defeating Great Britain 33-10.
“Sevens is a brutal game and you have to perform for those 20 minutes”. Men’s 15-a-side rugby was contested at the Olympics intermittently until 1924.
“I feel like a superhero”.
“The feeling of letting my team down, that’s what got to me the most”, Woodman said.
“What a freaking historic moment for us”.
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“Right through this lead up to the Olympics, anyone who’s had anything to do with this rugby sevens team has commented on the friendliness, the comradery of these girls and how they’ve embraced, and how this sport has embraced, the Olympic spirit”, Chiller said.
