It is probably right that Fiji, the team that plays the game so beautifully, were rewarded with the gold and the first medal for their country.
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Overseas media outlets were also quick to report on the story which some labelled “a fairytale ending” for a small nation with a big dream.
Pre-tournament favourites Fiji were imperious from the opening whistle.
Rugby last appeared as the 15-man version of the men’s game at the 1924 Olympics but returned in the shorter sevens format for men and women in Brazil, staging a competition which would decide its future in the Olympic line up.
“They (Fiji) turned it up a notch, and we’ve seen them do that on the World Series in the last couple of years”.
Tietjens believes the men’s sevens team will rise again in the wake of their disastrous Rio campaign, which resulted in a quarterfinal loss to Fiji and an eventual fifth placing.
In a breathtaking display of power rugby, the Fijians ran in five tries to take a 29-0 lead at halftime before taking their collective foot of the gas a little and adding only two more after the break.
“We wanted to show people the way we play, the Fijian way”, said coach Ben Ryan.
Later in life, he attended both Loughborough University (BSc in Sports Science) and Cambridge University (MPhil in Education), where he won two Blues as a scrum-half in the winning sides of 1995 and 1996, as well as captaining the Light Blues’ Sevens team.
World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont praised Team Fiji men’s rugby sevens head coach, Ben Ryan for his commitment and dedication to Fijian Rugby.
“I don’t know if we performed above expectations, as a group we knew how much talent was in the squad and we deserve to come away with a silver medal”.
When it counted most they appeared indecisive and took wrong options and it cost them gold.
Viliame Mata rubbed salt into the wounds with a seventh final try to the delight of the partisan crowd that included International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach, Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama and Princess Anne.
“The boys are front page, back page news, 6 o’clock news, you come out of the airport there’s a 20-foot billboard of them and that continues all the way through (the country)”.
With time running out, South Africa pressed for the win, but Team GB’s defence held firm to guarantee a medal.
“You know we had Winston, the second-biggest hurricane that swept through Fiji in February”, he said.
The bronze medal was awarded to the South Africa, after claiming victory over Japan.
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Britain’s normally watertight defence leaked holes everywhere, and Fiji nearly added a third try in five minutes, but Leone Nakarawa was hauled down just short of the line.
