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Fiji takes first ever Olympic gold after historic win in rugby sevens final

Xinhua, August 12, 2016 Adjust font size:

Fiji harvested the first ever Olympic gold as its men's rugby sevens team trounced Britain 43-7 in a lopsided final at the Rio Olympic Games here on Thursday.

Team skipper Osea Kolinisau opened the score with a try 57 seconds into the match to give Fiji a 5-0 lead. And the rampant Fijians never looked back as they achieved another four tries and two conversion goals to lead at 29-0 by halftime.

After the interval, the reigning World Rugby Sevens Series champions continued to extend their lead to 36-0. After Dan Norton's consolation try and Marcus Watson's conversion goal for Britain, Fiji wrapped up the victory in 43-7.

It is first Olympic gold medal for Fiji and also the first ever Olympic medal for the island country known for its athletic rugby.

"I'm a little bit lost for words. The boys were on another scale of phenomenal. They were brilliant," said Ben Ryan, coach of Fiji. "I'm delighted we just played so well in the final and we really didn't give Britain, who had done so well up until that point, a sniff and blew them away in the first half."

Fiji has played against the individual teams of England, Wales and Scotland in this sport at the World Cup and the sevens world series, winning 90 of the 130 matches against these teams.

They have lost only one of their last 17 matches against these three opponents, which was in London at the sevens world series last May as they were beaten 10-31 by England.

"It's been always our plan for three years, get them back to No.1, win world titles and then claim this first gold medal. But it's been a rocky road and three days ago the competition was incredibly fierce and there were twists and turns everywhere," Ryan said.

"They (Fijian players) played some high-risk rugby there and they were outstanding. We showcased Fijian rugby and hopefully everybody who was watching, maybe even the British supporters, can have a smile. It is just the way we wanted to play the game."

Rugby was last played at the Paris 1924 Olympic Games in a 15-a-side tournament won by the United States. No women's rugby had ever been played before at the Olympics.

A total of 12 teams competed in the men's rugby sevens competitions at the Rio Games. They were pooled in three groups with the two top-placed sides guaranteed a place in the quarterfinals along with the two best third-placed finishers.

In the third placement match staged earlier on Thursday, South Africa outgunned Japan 54-14 to take the bronze medal. Endit