It will be the first time since 1924 that rugby has been played at the Olympics and the debut for sevens, the previous four incarnations featuring 15-a-side tournaments.
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It just might not be the team they expected.
The highest profile player at the tournament, former heavyweight boxing champion and rugby league global, Williams was part of the New Zealand teams that won the 2011 and 2015 World Cups.
Fijiana, as the team is known, upended the United States 12-7 in their opening game.
Their fans around the world know that the Fijians lost some very close encounters, the ones we all expected them to win in the world series.
SBW who has won two Rugby World Cups, NRL Premiership and the Super Rugby title says winning the gold in Rio will top it all off.
But when asked to speak with the Australian reporters in Rio, Williams informed team officials he didn’t want to speak with the Aussies. Out went carbohydrates and fatty, local staples such as cassava and dalo, and in came lean meats and salads.
“Lot of sports talk”, said Ashley. “The fitness levels are up where they should be and the knowledge is too”.
“Our preparation was a dream”, Tavo said. Fijians have competed in the Olympics since 1956, but have never won a medal.
“Putting rugby on this kind of stage, you want it to be competitive and a real showcase for the world to see”.
A turnover from a big tackle saw Timaima Ravisa sprint clear for 12-0. One of the guys on the US team is current Patriots safety Nate Ebner, who’s skipping training camp to play.
“Think there was a bit of nerves, you saw there was a bit of a fumble there”, she said. Now 28, she’s considered one of the best forwards in the world.
“They can emulate what the boys do, in their own right they can do some spectacular things”, Cracknell said. Kelter scored the only try for the U.S.in the losing effort. “We’re hoping that more and more people start playing the game”.
Ryan has the chance to pen a more successful chapter in the family’s Olympic history and that of Fiji.
Great Britain’s women recovered from a shaky start to launch their Olympic rugby sevens challenge with a 29-3 victory over host nation Brazil at Deodoro Stadium. Carlin Isles skipped out on a chance at the 2012 Olympics as a sprinter to chase a career in rugby, and Perry Baker, whose legs seem to unravel endlessly from his torso, wowed the spectators inside Sam Boyd Stadium every time he found a patch of open field in front of him. I need to give myself the opportunity to make this because it’s massive.
“Fijiana are trailblazers”, FRU development manager Sale Sorovaki told the Fiji Sun.
Claire Allan, centre, Team GB Women’s Rugby Sevens team said: “Before I turned professional, I was a policewoman – chasing suspects turned out to be good practice for the field”.
“We’ve been trying to normalize it as much as possible, and make it like any other tournament”, said Ashley Steacy.
The veteran star of the women’s team is Beatriz Futuro Muhlbauer, but she has questioned whether the promotion of rugby post-Olympics would remain a priority in a country bedevilled by political problems.
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“But my time spent in the sevens environment is only going to help me going back to 15s”, he said, highlighting fellow All Black and former sevens star Ardie Savea and Super Rugby winger Reiko Ioane, now in Rio with Williams.
