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Fiji win Olympics gold again, defeating New Zealand in Tokyo final
By Sam Smith
Fiji have successfully defended their Olympics Rugby Sevens men’s title, defeating New Zealand in the 2021 Tokyo decider 27-12 after a powerhouse start propelled them to another gold medal following their success at the 2016 Games in Rio. Favourites for the title, the Fijians got off to a dream start in the showpiece decider with Meli Derenalagi and Sireli Maqala scoring in the opening three minutes.
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New Zealand hit back through Scott Curry but Fiji reached the interval 19-5 ahead after Jiuta Wainiqolo scored. This same tit-for-tat pattern was repeated in the second half, Sione Molia scoring for the Kiwis before Asaeli Tuivuaka grabbed the fourth Fiji try of a contest where they then landed a penalty from Waisea Nacuqu to see out their deserved 15-point Olympics final win.
Argentina will join this duo on the medals podium as they bounced back from their 26-14 semi-final loss to Fiji to defeat Britain 17-12 in the bronze medal match. The Brits, beaten 29-7 in their semi versus New Zealand, took an early lead through Ben Harris but tries from Lautaro Bazan Velez and Marcos Moneta had the Argies 12-5 up at the break.
Britain levelled the scores midway through the second half, Ollie Lindsay-Hague supplying the finish, but Ignacio Mendy broke away for the bronze medal-sealing score. Elsewhere, South Africa defeated Australia 22-19 and then the USA 28-7 to seal a fifth-place finish.
Ronald Brown scored two tries in the win over the Aussies before tries from Justin Geduld, Sakoyisa Makata, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Stedman Gans proved too much for the Americans. Australia took seventh place by defeating Canada 26-7 while Kenya clinched ninth with a 22-0 win over Ireland, the team they had lost 12-7 to in the pool stages on Tuesday. Hosts Japan defeated South Korea 31-19 in the eleventh-place match.
Your #Tokyo2020 #Rugby7s Men's #GOLD medallists! @fijirugby have done it again! ?
A small nation, but giants of the game!#HowWeSevens pic.twitter.com/nMKMXXD0iI
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) July 28, 2021
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think the battle between borthwick's 8 and eddie jones 8 was a bigger ticket. we saw what farrell brings and what smith did with historical defeat..
Go to commentsG'day, Nick. Sorry to see you've gone from the other place. It will be a poorer experience for many because of it. As others mentioned, your detailed analysis and commitment to engaging with every person commenting on your articles stood out and was the main reason I ended up joining 5 years ago. I'll be spending a bit more time over here now I think.
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