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RIO 2016
OLYMPIC Games history was made as Fiji won gold in the men's rugby sevens competition in style at the Deodoro Stadium on the last of six magnificent days of showcasing rugby to the world.
In defeating Great Britain 43-7 in a high-quality and pulsating final, Fiji won their nation's first-ever Olympic medal, became the first men's rugby Olympic gold medallists in 92 years and the first men's rugby sevens gold medal winners.
Over six days of high drama, unforgettable moments and spectacular sevens, rugby was the winner. It may have been seven years in the making from inclusion on the Olympic programme, but the wait was worth every second and how the fans loved it.
Showcased on sport's biggest broadcast stage, rugby sevens at Rio 2016 has been a hit. With its fast, dynamic and entertaining format, sevens has reached and inspired new audiences around the world as social media buzzed with excitement.
A mouth-watering final pitted HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series champions Fiji against Great Britain. With an historic Olympic gold medal beckoning, the contest was always going to inspire, and Fiji were simply irresistible, demonstrating their collective brilliance.
The opening half was a masterclass in sevens. Tries by inspirational captain Osea Kolinisau, Jerry Tuwai, Jasa Veremalua, Leone Nakarawa and Vatemo Ravouvou gave the Fijians a seemingly unassailable 29-0 lead at half-time.
After the interval, Fiji extended their lead through Josua Tuisova before Dan Norton got Great Britain off the mark. However, Viliame Mata rounded-off a polished performance by the Fijians, who ensured their place in sporting history on an emotional day for their nation.
SOUTH AFRICA DEFEAT JAPAN 54-14 TO WIN BRONZE
South Africa bounced back from their semi-final heartache in fantastic style, defeating a spirited Japan 54-14. Japan, one of the stories of this dramatic sevens competition, could not find an answer to the sheer pace of the South Africans, but can take great pride from their stellar performances in Rio ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Games.
A brace from Rosko Specman and another from Juan de Jongh gave South Africa a 21-7 lead at the interval. Kazuhiro Goya's try gave Japan hope early in the second half, before Cecil Afrika's brace and Justin Geduld, Specman and Cheslin Kolbe's tries eased the Blitzboks home.
SEMI-FINAL: FIJI 20-5 JAPAN
Series champions Fiji ended Japan's gold medal dreams with a 20-5 victory. Leading 10-5 at the break thanks to tries from Vatemo Ravouvou and Josua Tuisova, Fiji showed their series-winning class and composure in the second half, adding tries through Semi Kunatani, Jerry Tuwai to guarantee the nation's first-ever Olympic medal.
SEMI-FINAL: GREAT BRITAIN 7-5 SOUTH AFRICA
Great Britain had to withstand late pressure to book a place in the final. Trailing 5-0 at half-time after Kyle Brown's superb try, Great Britain rallied, combining punishing defence with superb attacking enterprise to snatch the lead through the pace of Dan Norton. With time running out, South Africa pressed for the win, but Team GB's defence held firm to guarantee a medal.
POSITIONAL PLAY-OFFS
In the other matches, world champions New Zealand ended on a high to be ranked fifth after defeating Argentina 17-14, while France claimed seventh with a 12-10 win over Australia. The USA bounced back from disappointment on the opening days to record a 24-12 win over Spain to finish ninth, while Kenya defeated hosts Brazil 24-0 to claim 11th place.
For rugby's first Olympians in more than a lifetime, the honour to compete on sport's greatest stage was victory in itself and all will reflect on playing their part in making history in what has been heralded as a game-changing event.
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AUSTRALIA |
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BRAZIL |
BEAUMONT HAILS SEVENS' OLYMPIC GAMES DEBUT
World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: "Over six compelling days of rugby, our top players have showcased the very best of our sport and its values. They have also showed just why we believed that rugby would be good for the Games and the Games good for rugby. Stars have been launched, unforgettable moments created and fans entertained throughout.
"I would like to congratulate Fiji on winning the inaugural men's rugby sevens gold medal and creating Olympic history in winning Fiji's first-ever medal. All of our new Olympians have made their families, nations and sport very proud. They have made history over six compelling days of sevens.
"This competition has demonstrated the very best of rugby and its character-building values. I am sure that we have reached, engaged and inspired new participants and fans around the world and we are excited to welcome them to the rugby family."
Click here to see the day's fixtures & results as they came in:
FIJI, Japan, Great Britain and South Africa qualified for the semi-finals of the Olympic Games men's rugby sevens, keeping their dreams of a gold medal alive as a magnificent competition headed into its final day.
With the prospect of winning the first men's Olympic medals in 92 years adding extra motivation, there was no sign of the morning session's drama relenting. An energetic crowd in party mood were treated to four high-quality matches despite the wet conditions, demonstrating the sublime skill of the world's top men's players.
FIJI 12-7 NEW ZEALAND
On a day of unforgettable moments, HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series champions Fiji, seeking their country's first Olympic Games medal, were pushed all the way by world champions New Zealand in a tense affair, eventually prevailing 12-7 to keep their dreams of gold alive.
JAPAN 12-7 FRANCE
Japan's incredible Olympic Games journey continued with a remarkable 12-7 win over a France side they had only defeated six times in the last 21 encounters. Victory was secured with the last play of the game through Teruya Goto's try. Their heroics have captured the hearts of a nation and firmly placed rugby back in the headlines in Japan, 10 months after their Rugby World Cup 2015 feats and ahead of Tokyo 2020.
GREAT BRITAIN 0-0 ARGENTINA (5-0 AET)
Dan Bibby was Great Britain's hero after scoring a sudden-death try in extra-time after his side had played out a tense, but compelling 0-0 draw. The result could very easily have gone the other way. Argentina were awarded a penalty at the end of normal time, but captain Gaston Revol's attempt drifted wide of the posts.
SOUTH AFRICA 22-5 AUSTRALIA
South Africa booked their place in the semi-finals after defeating Australia 22-5. Tries by Seabelo Senatla and Rosko Specman in the first half and Kyle Brown and Senatla after the interval wrapped-up a win that sets-up a semi-final against Great Britain.
The Japanese followed their historic victory over New Zealand and narrow defeat to Great Britain on day one with an impressive 31-7 victory over Kenya, while reigning HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series champions Fiji maintained their dreams of winning a first-ever Olympic Games medal for their nation by topping Pool A.
If event success was on excitement and breath-taking athleticism, then rugby sevens has certainly made an impression at the Rio 2016 Games. With no team having guaranteed a place in the last eight, and nine teams still in the hunt at the start of the morning, the final round of pool matches did not disappoint.
Every session has delivered a compelling story and owing to the exciting three-pool format, there was drama in abundance as New Zealand and Australia faced anxious waits to see whether they would qualify as the best third-placed teams.
Pool A
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Series champions Fiji confirmed their position at the top of the pool with a 24-19 win over USA, which knocked the Americans out of medal contention. The result also confirmed New Zealand and Australia's passage as the two best third-placed teams on points difference.
Pool B
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South Africa and France were first to secure their places courtesy of a series of results that set up a three-way tie on points at the top of Pool B. Despite losing 12-5 to Australia, South Africa finished top with France second thanks to a 26-5 win over Spain. Australia faced a nervous wait, but were later confirmed as one of the two best third-placed teams.
POOL C
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Japan maintained their excellent form, defeating Kenya 31-7 in their final pool match to guarantee a quarter-final place as runners-up. The result teed-up a mouth-watering pool decider between Great Britain and New Zealand, which Team GB held on to win 21-19 to top the pool.
Click here to see the day's fixtures & results as they came in:
JAPAN shocked world champions New Zealand on a dramatic and compelling opening day of the Olympic Games men's rugby sevens competition.
Japan's historic 14-12 victory reflected a scintillating day of sevens that had fans at a packed Deodoro Stadium on their feet. Had it not been for a missed conversion attempt following a last-gasp try against Great Britain, Japan could have finished day one unbeaten.
Such was the competitiveness of the matches that no team has confirmed their place in the quarter-finals, setting up a compelling final round of pool matches on Wednesday. Only Kenya, Spain and hosts Brazil are out of contention despite defiant performances in their pool matches.
FIJI SET THE PACE IN POOL A AS ARGENTINA DEFEAT USA
HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series champions Fiji, who have never won an Olympic medal in any sport, won both matches, beating Brazil 40-12 and Argentina 21-14, to top the pool. Argentina claimed a significant scalp, defeating USA 17-14, to set up a thrilling climax to the pool on day two.
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SOUTH AFRICA IN CONTROL IN POOL B
THE Blitzboks are in pole position for a quarter-final place after defeating Spain 24-0 and France 26-0. France made history by winning the first men's Olympic Games rugby match since 1924, 34-14 against Australia, and both sides are still in contention after the Australians bounced back to beat Spain 24-7.
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ALL TO PLAY FOR IN POOL C AFTER JAPAN'S HISTORIC WIN
GREAT BRITAIN top Pool C and are in the driving seat to secure a quarter-final place after defeating Kenya 31-7 and Japan 21-19. Japan and New Zealand can still qualify, having won a match each, but tomorrow's mouth-watering Kenya v Japan and Great Britain v New Zealand matches will decide whose medal dreams live on.
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World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: "We have enjoyed a simply incredible day of Olympic Games rugby sevens. The action has been dramatic and exciting throughout and showcased the very best of our sport to the world.
"Wednesday's morning session will be compelling viewing and it speaks volumes about the competitiveness of sevens when we go into day two with nine teams competing for the eight quarter-final places.”
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JUNE 28th 2016 saw the Olympic host city announce the pools for Rio 2016.
Favourites Fiji were drawn in Pool A with defending Olympic champions USA, as well as South American rivals Argentina and Brazil. Pool B is another tough group, which includes South Africa, Australia, France and Spain, while it does not get any less competitive in Pool C as New Zealand play Great Britain, Kenya and Japan.
In both competitions, the top two teams from each pool, plus the two best third-placed sides, progress to the quarter-finals.
Below is the HSBC World Rugby Sevens series form of the twelve Olympic-qualified team, (seeds in brackets) with the exception of Team GB who play as individual nations in the tournament. At the conclusion of the 2015-16 World Series, England placed 8th, Scotland 10th and Wales 12th.
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Click below for the Rio 2016 Rugby 7s squads:
AS you may know already, Rugby Unplugged doesn't unplug women's rugby, since the most excellent Scrum Queens do a far better job! So head over to them to get all the details from the Rio 2016 Women's Rugby 7s which was so magnificently won by the Australians, securing Gold from right under the noses of the Black Ferns who had to console themselves with Silver, while Canada were superb in taking the Bronze from Team GB.
