Winning the bronze medal was “bittersweet” for the Blitzboks, says coach Neil Powell after they wrapped up their Rio Olympics campaign by putting 50 points past Japan.
It was heartbreak in the semi-final against Great Britain on Thursday night at the Deodoro Stadium as the Springbok Sevens were unable to convert several chances – where Seabelo Senatla’s injury-enforced absence was heavily felt – to go down 7-5 and miss out on an opportunity to grab a gold medal.
That honour went to World Series champions Fiji, who annihilated the British 43-7 to win the nation’s first ever Olympic medal.
The South Africans would definitely have given the Fijians a tougher challenge, which made the defeat to Team GB even harder to take for Powell and his team.
The bronze-medal clash against Japan wasn’t a sure deal beforehand either, as they had beaten New Zealand and France to reach this stage, and had lost just 20-5 to Fiji in the other semi-final.
But the Blitzboks were ruthless in the second half in particular, running in eight tries in a 54-14 thrashing. With the pressure at a much lower level, they showcased their full array of skills in a dazzling display, and it left Powell thinking about what could’ve happened had they got through to the final.
“Up and downs! A bit bittersweet. I think positive and negative. Obviously I think we targeted being in that final and hopefully win the gold for South Africa, but unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be and it wasn’t good enough,” the coach said.
“So, happy that we at least got something from that last game against Japan, and happy with the bronze, but would’ve loved to get a gold. Maybe next time.
“(The Japan game) was almost as if the guys threw all the nerves off and just started to play! And it’s something we need to look at – maybe it’s us as a coaching staff who don’t get the guys relaxed enough before they go on to the field.
“We have to have a look at it and see how we can get them more relaxed and get them out of their boxes before they run on to that field. But a good performance – sheesh, the guys really played some good rugby, probably the best performance for us not only in this tournament, but of the year.”
One of the real heroes of the Olympic campaign was captain Kyle Brown, who led the comeback in the tournament after a poor loss to Australia in the final pool game.
Brown was a colossus at the breakdown, winning crucial turnovers to stop the momentum of the opposition, while he also set up a few tries with some excellent offloads and scored in the quarter-final and semi-final.
The 29-year-old earned selection to the Olympic Sevens Dream Team after the final, which was scant consolation after missing out on a gold medal, but deserved recognition for his efforts.
“Listen, Kyle is a great person. He’s a great leader, inspirational leader for the team. And somebody that is easy for the rest of the players to follow – not just lead by example, but he’s a good motivator as well and he gets the guys up for every single game,” Powell said.
“I’m glad for him. He’s had a good season as well, but didn’t make the Dream Team for the World Series. So, a well deserved spot for the Olympic Dream Team.”
Powell said that the players would get a break of a few weeks now, but that he had fond memories of the Blitzboks’ time in Rio despite the disappointment of not winning gold.
“I must say it was nice for a first time. Maybe a lot of tension, intense, a bit of pressure put on us as it was the first one and we really wanted to be successful at the first Olympic Games where rugby sevens was part of it,” he said.
“There was a very good atmosphere at the place we stayed at in the Athletes’ Village, and it was nice where we even sat in front of Nadal and had breakfast this morning! So, lots of stars there.
“But for us as a first time, a little sweet, a little sour. Happy with the bronze medal, but we would’ve dearly wanted gold.”
Olympic Sevens Dream Team
Kyle Brown (SA), Lomano Lemeki (Japan), James Davies, Dan Bibby (both Great Britain), Semi Kunatani, Josua Tuisova, Osea Kolinisau (all Fiji).
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