GB are denied a Men’s Olympic Rugby Sevens medal by Argentina, whilst Fiji re-capture gold

Great Britain, despite impressing in the early stages of the men’s sevens competition, will go home empty-handed thanks to a narrow defeat to an impressive Argentina. In the gold medal match, Fiji won the battle of the pacific to retain their Rugby Sevens crown.

The Rugby Sevens has certainly impressed fans around the world, and is continuing to justify its inclusion in the Olympic Games. 

Not only does it provide a fantastic opportunity for Rugby Sevens players to become Olympians and fight for Olympic medals, but it also puts Rugby Sevens, and indeed Rugby as a whole on the map.

With Rugby Union and League both struggling, it’s good to see the Sevens format get more eyes on the game and hopefully inspire a generation to come to get playing Rugby, in whichever format they wish. 

In the final session of play at the Tokyo Stadium, the remaining placement matches took place in the build-up to the two medal clashes-

7th place Play-Off: Australia v Canada

With the first session determining who would be fighting for what medals, the start of the second session brought about the remainder of the repechage matches, in which teams are playing for pride as well as placement.

Australia have looked below-par at these Olympics, and achieving 7th place will do little to stem that notion. With the shackles off though, the Green and Golds went on to play some excellent Rugby Sevens, taking a 12-7 lead into the break.

Despite Canada holding firm for the most part, Australia did eventually show some of the form they were hoping to show in the main competition, with tries going in from Nick Malouf and Lachie Miller.

Canada looked weary towards the end, and despite a good showing, would ultimately go on to finish the Olympic Rugby Sevens competition in 8th.

Final Score: Australia 26-7 Canada

5th place Play-Off: South Africa v United States of America

This matchup produced a tight but highly intriguing affair in the final round of pool matches. Whilst this may have only been a 5th placed Play-Off, both these sides will have counted themselves unlucky to not be fighting for a medal and will have been keen to let out their frustrations on their opponents and secure a win.

For the players as individuals, there is never a guarantee that they will play at the Olympics again so it was important for all of them to seize and savour the moment.

Justin Geduld has been a standout for the Springboks in the Olympics, and once again proved a nuisance to the Americans by powering his way over the line.

The game was proving scrappy, and closely fought, but two late South African scores earned them the double over the USA, as well as the right to finish 5th in the Olympics.

Final Score: South Africa 28-7 United States of America

Bronze Medal Match: Argentina v Great Britain

Great Britain will have been highly disappointed by their Semi-Final outing, despite being outclassed by the All-Blacks. However, the focus would have been on adding a bronze medal to their silver from Rio. They got off to the perfect start as well, with Dan Bibby holding the ball up and Ben Harris able to go over in the corner for his fourth try of the competition.

Argentina levelled the scores with a faint from the scrummage and Lautaro Bazan Velez deceiving the British defence and scoring in the corner. The Argentines then hit the front with a dummy and a sidestep from Marcos Moneta using his dynamism to fool his opponents and score a brilliant try.

In the second half, GH capitalising on a rare Argentine error and Oliver Lindsay-Hague to score. With the scores level going into the final minutes, the bronze medal was tantalisingly close for both teams.

Argentina were able to have the last laugh and claim a fantastic bronze with Ignacio Mendy finding a gap in the British defence and taking the long run in for the score.

A highly disappointing end to a long Olympic Sevens tournament for Team GB, one that had many ups and downs. No one can doubt the effort and application from each and every one of the players in every match, but ultimately they will return empty-handed.

Having looked highly impressive in the opening two group games, the Fiji match definitely brought them back down to earth. The players showed tremendous character to overturn a 21-0 deficit to beat a good US team, but they were outworked by an Argentine team who are truly building something special.

As for Argentina, massive congratulations are in order for them. They have a young and hungry team who are redefining Rugby Sevens with an entirely different approach to the game.

They do all of the basics very well, and will fight for every ball and are a well-oiled machine. Add to that the raw pace and talent they have at their disposal with the likes of Marcos Moneta and Ignacio Mendy, this Argentina team have every chance of building on this bronze and maybe going even better in Paris.

Final Score: Argentina 17-12 Great Britain

Gold Medal Match: Fiji v New Zealand

A pacific battle was brewing in the gold medal matchup, with the defending champions Fiji taking on the mighty All-Blacks.

To Rugby fans who don’t follow Sevens, it may seem strange to say that Fiji were the favourites for this game. The Sevens format can favour certain nations, and there’s no doubt Fiji have taken Sevens to their heart and consequently, are now the dominant nation in the sport.

The All-Blacks are a force in any form of Rugby, of that there is no doubt. However, New Zealand will be keen to exert their dominance from the XV’s game onto the Sevens game as well, and winning Olympic gold would have been a huge step towards doing that.

Fiji started on top by ripping possession of the ball, and the offload from the floor played in Derenalagi for yet another try in the corner. The next try for Fiji was a gift, with New Zealand failing to ground in the in-goal area and its 21-year-old Sireli Maqala who capitalised by touching the ball down.

New Zealand hit straight back though with some patient passing and Scott Curry finds a gap in the Fijian line and scores to bring his team right back into contention.

Jiuta Wainiqolo’s powerful fend-offs have been a real feature of this competition, and it was yet another powerful run and shrugging off a tackle and scoring in the corner.

Well over a minute past the buzzer, New Zealand were able to manufacture a lifeline with Molia powering through a tackle with a leg drive to score.

Relentless Fiji pressure eventually paid off and Asaeli Tuivaka was the beneficiary of the ball being brilliantly recycled. A late penalty kick confirmed the second consecutive Rugby Sevens gold medal for these proud Fijians.

Final Score: Fiji 26-14 New Zealand

*Fiji win Olympic Gold

A final of tremendous quality played out by two nations that simply live and breath rugby in any form. One error from New Zealand in the whole match and it arguably cost them as it gave Fiji that cushion they wanted.

There’s no doubt that New Zealand will be desperately disappointed, but they were beaten by a nation that owns this format of Rugby.

It was a typically slow start from Fiji in the competition, as they were run close by Japan and Canada, but they turned it on when it mattered, decimating Team GB, and Australia. Then, at the business end of the competition, Fiji were just one step ahead of their opponents at all times, and always had that extra flash of quality that got them over the line.

Of course, the Tokyo 2020 Rugby Sevens tournament would have benefited from having fans in attendance, as with most of the sports. However, that’s not to say that this competition wasn’t a success, with some fantastic Rugby Sevens played with the entire world watching.

As the Fijians belted out their national anthem to an empty stadium, the tears were flowing for a group of players who had given everything over the last three days, and who were now reaping the ultimate rewards for doing so, earning their nation an Olympic gold medal.

The Rugby Sevens action continues though, with the women’s competition getting underway at the Tokyo Stadium. Could Fiji possibly do the double? Or will GB’s women fair better and grab a Rugby Sevens medal for Britain? They’ll get their campaign underway against the Russian Olympic Committee at 3:00 am BST.

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