English coach credited with rediscovering Fiji flair

By Nick Mulvenney RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Fiji captain Osea Kolinisau credited English coach Ben Ryan with helping the Pacific islanders rediscover their traditional rugby flair after they became the first Olympic men's sevens champions at the Rio Games on Thursday. Fiji has produced some of the greatest players ever to have played the shortened version of the game, such as Waisale Serevi and William Ryder, and their success has allowed the country to wave its flag on the global sporting stage. Since the introduction of the world sevens series in 1999, however, the team have often struggled with consistency, romping through one tournament only to crash out early in the next. Ryan, a former England coach who helped develop many of the players that face the Fijians in Thursday's final, arrived in Suva three years ago to rectify that. Since then, the Fijians have won the last two world series and in Rio they produced a string of sevens masterclasses, going through the tournament unbeaten to claim their country's first Olympic medal. "We are really blessed that he came and coached Fiji," Kolinisau told reporters with Ryan sitting next to him at the post-final news conference. "He brought out the real Fiji. For years we tried to get back the Fijian flair and when Ben came, he brought that out and brought a real consistency to our game." BABIES AND POP SONGS The evidence of the rediscovery of that flair had been laid out for all to see at the Deodoro Stadium on Thursday evening, when the Fijians produced an awesome seven-try demolition of Britain to clinch the gold medal. It was a sensational and hugely popular conclusion to the first rugby tournament at the Olympics since 1924. Kolinisau, who scored the first try with a burst down the left wing, said he was still struggling to digest the fact he was an Olympic champion. "I told the boys when we were up at the podium: is this even happening? Are we gold medal winners?" he said. "I never dreamt of being an Olympian let alone being a medallist, let alone being a gold medallist." Ryan, who is such a popular figure in Fiji that he has had babies named in his honour and pop songs written about him, is out of contract after the Olympics and has said he would take a break before deciding on his next challenge. "Hopefully, after his break he decides to stay with Fijian rugby a little longer," said Kolinisau. (Editing by Peter Rutherford)