New Zealand, who have dominated sevens for much of the last two decades but were sent out of the tournament by the Fijians in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, finished fifth.
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Of his future, Ryan added: “I always said that I was going to press the pause button after my time with Fiji, reflect on things and that’s what I’ll do, have a few months off”.
World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont said Japan’s upset win over powerhouse New Zealand on the opening day of the men’s tournament “was wonderful”, and noted the performances of the Brazilian teams.
Davies has enjoyed every minute of his Olympic experience in Rio – and to cap it all off with a silver medal is a pleasant surprise for some. We knew what they were, and the ability of that team to adapt into the Olympics was second to none.
“They are an incredibly talented bunch of guys, and when they are on form, they are very hard to stop”.
“I’m at a loss of words, the boys were on another scale of phenomenal”.
“It is the national sport in Fiji, and those guys will go home and be heroes”.
“I feel very lucky that I’m in charge of such an unbelievable group of athletes that are so passionate about rugby sevens, I certainly wouldn’t have had this success if it wasn’t for them, and I’m a small part of this”. “Very special to have that and I think it’s still sinking in for a lot of people really that a tiny island of Fiji are able to produce gold medals”.
The final score was 43-7. Just the way we wanted to play the game.
Discovering an unfit team with a poor diet, he made the players buy into his rules by threatening not to select people who refused to follow them.
With all the excitement and patriotism felt today for the Irish in Rio, what with Cork’s the O’Donovan brothers claiming silver – and Ireland’s first ever medal – in the rowing events, take a moment to share the joy of the Pacific nation of Fiji.
“Credit to Fiji. They have played an absolute blinder in that final. It was within reach, a medal, but I’m really proud of the boys and I couldn’t ask for anything more”.
“You never know how it will go in Rio, you want them to understand, beyond whatever success we might have here, that this is an unbelievable, established sport which is good for the Olympics – and as it turned out Rio has been fantastic but [the Hong Kong trips] added to the general culture of people coming and watching sevens”.
“It has been fantastic”.
It was all light-hearted stuff, although Bainimarama explained how rugby had reunited Fiji after February’s hurricane reportedly left more than 10,000 islanders homeless. “We knew we had talent, and the team spirit was extraordinary”.
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The bronze medal match also proved to be one too many for Japan, shock winners over fancied New Zealand in their opening pool match, as South Africa crushed them 54-14.
