Reflecting on Tokyo 2020 Olympic Rugby 7s

 Yesterday saw the conclusion of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Rugby 7s tournament which featured both a men's and women's competition. When I sat down to watch the first session of the men's rugby 7s in the early hours of Tuesday morning I was looking forward to what I believed would be an entertaining six days of carnival style rugby. Whilst I believed that I would enjoy it, I never imagined for one moment that the tournament would have the level of impact on me that it did, nor did I envisage the connection that I would feel with the players of all participating nations. From the minute that coverage began there was so much to captivate audiences new and old, from the breath-taking aerial scenes of early morning Tokyo to the wonderful structure that is the Tokyo Stadium - adorned with the flags of nations participating in the tournament. That morning we got the first introduction to the soon-to-be famous robotic car upon which was constructed rugby posts. The car was used to carry the rugby ball from the side-line to the centre of the pitch at which point the ball was raised in what can only be described as a miniature forklift and released through the rugby sticks atop the car. The objective was simple - to find the centre spot. Sadly, on this occasion, as indeed on all other attempts, the ball bumbled agonisingly clear of the spot. I don't recall what I thought in that exact moment of that attempt but I can remember that my first encounter with the robotic-rugby-ball-carrying-car involved tears of laughter. I would like to say that I got less amused by the robotic car as the tournament went on - but I would be lying.

The men's tournament was up first and took place between Monday 26th July - Wednesday 28th July (Tokyo time). As expected, all of the Olympians conducted themselves with great ferocity on the pitch, but also with great respect and decorum. Those of us that watched the Rugby 7s back at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games will recall the incredible respect and humility of the Fijian 7s team. So it continued for these games. 

The pool stages progressed, on the whole, rather as I had expected. Defending Olympic champions, Fiji, qualified top of Pool B undefeated. Strong sides New Zealand and South Africa followed suit in Pools A and C respectively. Great Britain and the United States of America also qualified as runners up in Pools B and C. I was, however, most impressed with Argentina who finished second in Pool A and progressed ahead of Australia. The tournament allowed for two of the best third place finishers across the three pools to join the Quarter Finals - these slots were taken by Australia and Canada. 

In the men's tournament, it was at the Quarter Final stage that things started to get juicy. New Zealand went through fairly comfortably with their victory over Canada - this was, I daresay, expected. What was not expected was the spectacle we were treated to in Quarter Finals 2 & 3. Great Britain, who had only lost to an imperious Fiji side in the Pools, found themselves 21-0 behind to a spirited USA side. An exceptional second half fight back saw GB take the win 26-21. It was a heart-breaking exit for the Americans who had displayed some amazing rugby across the Pool Stage. US readers look away now. Needless to say, it was party mode in my house and I went for an afternoon snooze in elated spirits, after the conclusion of the session of course. I thought that was about as good of a rugby spectacle as you could get for 7s - I was wrong. Quarter Final 3 set up a meeting between South Africa, a side unbeaten in the Pools, against an Argentina side that was growing hugely into the tournament. I must confess though that prior to this game, I couldn't see a podium place for them. In fact, I was pretty confident the Boks would ease past them. Shows how much I know! Anyway, the game was hugely entertaining and to my mind a 19-14 victory for the Pumas over the Blitzboks was mind blowing and I guess it was at that stage I began to think - this team really are challengers. Fiji did what Fiji do and defeated Australia which I guess was a little anti-climactic after the heart racers of the previous two games. 

The Semi Finals looked mouth-watering. I must admit that I was concerned for Great Britain, leaking 21 points early on in the Quarter Final was disconcerting. Admittedly, the comeback was pretty spectacular. New Zealand looked good though - they had answered every question asked of them immaculately up until that point and I wasn't sure that Britain could handle them. So it proved to be, New Zealand running out 29-7 victors in the Semi Final. GB, though, did show admirable fight. Though I was disappointed that Great Britain were eliminated from the Gold Medal race, I did reflect on some really great moments for GB. Day one had been exceptional for the team - they had obliterated both Canada and Japan. On day two, after being humbled by Fiji 33-7 in the final match of Pool B, they showed incredible fight to overturn a sizable score difference against the USA in the Quarter Finals. Regardless of what might happen in the third place playoff - they, and I, could be proud of the fight and belief of the players. The second semi-final was an interesting one. I was intrigued to see how much this Argentinian team, which I knew so little about, could go toe to toe with the giants of Fiji. They did pretty well in that regard but couldn't prevent a 26-14 defeat. The win set up a Bronze Medal Match between Great Britain and Argentina and a Gold Medal Match between Fiji and New Zealand. The latter was tasty - oh it was very tasty. 

The Men's Bronze Medal game had me very excited - I really believed we could take the Bronze and felt we had the fire power to do it. Clearly, Argentina had other ideas but at 17-12 it was fairly close. Was Argentina taking the Bronze a shock to me generally? possibly, I certainly wouldn’t have guessed it at the start of play on Day one, but by the end of the tournament they had more than earnt it. Once I had recovered from my disappointment (I only had about 5 minutes to do so) it was time for the Gold Medal Match. What.A.Prospect. Both Fiji and New Zealand had been incredible in their march to the final and the game did not disappoint. A fiercely fought tie saw the Fijians win Gold for a second time in Rugby 7s at the Olympic Games. The game ended 27-12. The rugby had been mesmerising and my sleeping pattern was destroyed as I had pretty much aligned myself with Tokyo time (JST) - but it had all been worth it.

Thinking back across the tournament, the medal ceremonies were one of the standout moments for me and seeing the Fijian men stood atop the podium, tears in their eyes, deeply moved me. I remember recalling at that moment the vivid scenes of Rio 2016 and my first encounter with deep Fijian reverence and humility - it was overwhelming. As the Fijian hymn 'Eda Sa Qaqa' rang out from the Fijian ranks at full time and the victory song at the conclusion of the medal ceremony bellowed, I couldn't help but smile and applaud a team that so richly deserved their win. Long may their example of humility, respect and determination inspire future players of this wonderful game. To say it was all about Fiji though would be unfair. Nothing but pride could be seen from New Zealand with their Silver Medals and the Argentinians who few would have predicted a podium place with their Bronze Medals. I will never forget it. 

The men's competition was incredible, but the women's tournament was about to take the exhilaration, drama and emotion to the next level. In fact, no, it was about to raise it three levels. The women's tournament started the day after the conclusion of the men's and in many ways it felt like a total reset, a fresh start and I was bang up for it at that point having almost completely adjusted to Tokyo time. It even gave a new opportunity for the now famous robotic car to find that coveted centre spot - a goal that so far eluded the ever-persistent robot. As well as the familiar favourites, there were some different countries featuring in the women's event including Brazil, China and the Russian Olympic Committee. 

Unlike the men's competition the Pool Stage was full of surprises with Defending Olympic Champions Australia losing their final pool stage match to the USA and pre-tournament medal candidates Canada winning only one of their pool stage matches! At the close of Pool Stage play New Zealand, France and the USA progressed as pool winners. Great Britain, Fiji and Australia went through as runners up. As with the men's tournament, the format permitted the qualification of two of the highest placed third place teams. There was plenty of drama in this as it went down to the wire to find out which teams would progress. Much to the shock of the rugby world - Canada were eliminated and the Russian Olympic Committee and China progressed. It is important to point out that Group B winners France had had to qualify through a Repechage event just to be involved in the Games! Also impressive were the Fijiana, who had defeated one of the pre-tournament favourites Canada 26-12 before dismantling Brazil 41-5. They looked good - but I didn't think they would last. In fact, I wasn't sure either France or Fiji would progress beyond the Quarter Finals.

I should have guessed long before the Quarter Finals that this was hardly going to be a predictable run in to the gold medal match but I remember thinking surely Australia will come good here and beat Fiji. It didn't happen - but it was close. The Fijiana ran out 14-12 victors and edged through to the Semi Finals. I have to say, the Fijiana were making a real name for themselves and I was becoming more and more impressed with their work rate even well after 12 minutes. New Zealand had been impressive throughout the tournament, but it was from the Quarter Finals, I feel, that they really came into their own. They hammered the Russian Olympic Committee 36-0 to cruise through. Great Britain met the USA in the Quarter Final just as their male counterparts had. My nerves spared; GB didn't quite need the heroic comeback this time as they defeated the Americans 21-12 to go through. But hey - it was not without its nervy moments. The final Quarter Final saw France progress beating a Chinese side that had greatly impressed me 24-10. 

It was around this time that I was really beginning to connect with the women's sides beyond my own team GB. I took to social media for much of this period and basked in the predominantly positive interactions between people loving the sport. I found that there were also many first time viewers who had fallen in love with the game and were really enthusiastic to get to watch some 7s themselves. I recall one individual tweeting about how much the tournament had captivated him and asking when was there an international 7s event in his country. It was amazing to see how much of a positive impact the Olympic 7s was having across social media. 

Perhaps unfairly I felt most confident about the GB team ahead of the women's Semi Finals - I really felt we could beat France despite the weapons they possessed. I felt that surely this time we would be taking home a medal but it wasn't to be. Despite a late GB surge, France progressed to the Gold Medal Match winning 26-19. Great Britain would contest Bronze. The second Semi Final, between New Zealand and Fiji, was arguably the best of the tournament for either men's or women's teams. It was a titanic clash between two sides who gave everything. Facing down an incredible New Zealand team, the Fijiana fought hard leading at the end of the first half 7-5. But New Zealand shot back and after a mesmeric further 7 minutes the game was tied 17-17 at the end of the second half. It was our first Extra Time game of the tournament and it was eventually won by a Gayle Broughton try for New Zealand. WOW! what a game it was. New Zealand progressed and, in heart breaking fashion, the Fijiana had to make do with a Bronze Medal contest with Team GB. 

Things felt ominous to me at this point, I struggled to see Great Britain beating a Fiji side that had just gone toe to toe with the form team in the tournament. The only hope that I believed we had was that much effort had been expended in the Semi Final by Fiji - would they have enough in the tank to take on us too? The answer was a pretty resounding yes with the Fijiana beating Great Britain 21-12 to take the Bronze. It was like Deja-Vu, GB had finished 4th again. I was, however, very proud of the effort throughout the tournament by GB who had shown they were more than a match for some of the big hitters in the tournament. Jasmine Joyce (can we call her the Welsh Rocket?) had shone particularly bright with a total of 7 tries scored across the tournament. That was joint second most with Blyde of New Zealand and Ciofani of France. Wow! The Gold Medal match saw a good performance from both finalists New Zealand and France, but it was the former that ran out 26-12 winners taking the Gold. So, we had our Olympic Champions, New Zealand, who had thoroughly deserved the title after an incredible tournament. 

I mentioned earlier in the blog that the men's medal ceremony was a deeply moving experience. The women's ceremony was perhaps even more so with a wonderful display of comradery between the medal winners - cheers ringing out for each other as each team received their medal. As a personal touch, the French and New Zealand teams presented each other with their medals. Of course, any New Zealand Rugby experience would be incomplete without the Haka, duly performed by the women's team at the conclusion of the ceremony.

What to say about this year’s Olympic Rugby 7s? Truly Incredible. It is a tournament that I will never forget for as long as I live - a tournament that, in the aftermath of the devastating Coronavirus Pandemic, gave so much happiness and brought so many people together.