Fiji beats New Zealand to clinch back-to-back Olympic titles

By: John Pye, The Associated Press Posted: 4:54 AM CDT Wednesday, Jul. 28, 2021

TOKYO (AP) — Fiji clinched back-to-back Olympic gold medals with a 27-12 victory over New Zealand on Wednesday in the rugby sevens final at the Tokyo Games.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.

TOKYO (AP) — Fiji clinched back-to-back Olympic gold medals with a 27-12 victory over New Zealand on Wednesday in the rugby sevens final at the Tokyo Games.

Read unlimited articles for free today:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/07/2021 (1506 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TOKYO (AP) — Fiji clinched back-to-back Olympic gold medals with a 27-12 victory over New Zealand on Wednesday in the rugby sevens final at the Tokyo Games.

Rugby is the national sport in both Pacific countries. But rugby sevens means more to the Fijians because of their long dominance of the fast format.

The silver was an improvement for the New Zealand men’s team after it missed the podium when rugby sevens made its Olympic debut at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Fiji's Jiuta Wainiqolo celebrates after scoring a try, in Fiji's men's rugby sevens semifinal match against Argentina, at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 28, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

The Fijians scored three first-half tries and led 19-12 at the break. When Asaeli Tuivuaka raced over to score in the right corner with about two minutes remaining, another gold medal was assured.

The government declared a national holiday when Fiji won the rugby gold in Rio, the country’s first Olympic medal of any kind, and the central bank printed $7 notes to commemorate it.

Jerry Tuwai’s squad dedicated the victory to the 900,000 people of Fiji, confident it will lift the mood in the Pacific island nation that has been struggling with a COVID-19 outbreak since April.

All the medals went to the southern hemisphere, with Argentina beating 2016 finalist Britain 17-12 for the bronze.