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Paris Games: Jerry Tuwai reflects on ‘misunderstanding’ with Ben Gollings

Fiji's Selesitino Ravutaumada (L) and Fiji's Jerry Tuwai (C) celebrate with Fiji's Iosefo Baleiwairiki (R) during the men's pool C rugby sevens match between Fiji and the USA during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on July 24, 2024. (Photo by CARL DE SOUZA / AFP) (Photo by CARL DE SOUZA/AFP via Getty Images)

Two-time Olympic gold medallist Jerry Tuwai is back on the world’s biggest sporting stage. Only a few months ago, it seemed the rugby sevens legend wouldn’t take part in the Paris Olympics after missing out on another Fiji squad.

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Tuwai didn’t take part in the SVNS Series until the Grand Final in Madrid. Former coach Ben Gollings had overlooked the 35-year-old earlier in the season, with the Englishman reportedly putting that non-selection down to fitness.

New boss Osea Kolinisau, who won Olympic gold at the 2016 Rio Games with Tuwai, came into the head coach role a matter of weeks before the prestigious Hong Kong Sevens. Kolinisau didn’t pick his old teammate for that tournament or the next one in Singapore.

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But when Fiji named their playing squad for the Grand Final event at Civitas Metropolitano, the inclusion of Tuwai was by far the biggest talking point. Fiji were uncharacteristically poor during the regular season and were desperate to turn their fortunes around.

Tuwai was an unused substitute in Fiji’s thrilling win over traditional rivals New Zealand in their first match, but by the end of the tournament, the sevens veteran was starting. Almost two months on, Tuwai is Fiji’s sevens captain at the Olympic Games in Paris.

“A lot of things that happened a few months ago, it hurts me, it hurts me to my core that I was not able to compete on the SVNS Series,” Tuwai said on the Olympics broadcast.

“But I never lost hope. I always believed that I could make another Olympics.

“A few months later, I’m here. I just played my first game so it’s a blessing.

“He’s not a bad man, he’s not a bad coach – he’s a very good man. I respect him. He’s a good coach too, a very good coach,” Tuwai explained when asked about Ben Gollings.

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“There’s a lot of misunderstanding between us, between the media, between the people that have caused a lot of drama, unnecessary drama, that I think carried onto my boys on the Series.

“But as I said, he’s a good man, he’s a good coach. It is all misunderstanding that caused a lot of drama.”

With Tuwai leading the way, Fiji have gotten off to a perfect start as they look to become the first nation to win three Olympic gold medals in rugby sevens.

The Fijians opened their account with a blistering 40-12 win newly-promoted SVNS Series side Uruguay before backing that up with a 38-12triumph over the USA. Those results were the second and third biggest winning margins on the opening day in Saint-Denis.

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With 80,000 fans watching on at Stade de France, the two-time defending Olympic gold medallists shot out of the blocks in a crunch clash with the USA by piling on 33 points in the first half alone.

That match was practically over then and there.

Waisea Nacuqu scored one more for Fiji in the second term before USA sevens great Perry Baker had the final say with a runaway try. But the match was well and truly over before that point, and Fiji will take plenty of confidence out of that result.

They take on Antoine Dupont’s Fance in the early hours of Friday morning (Fiji time). But for now, putting the results aside, it’s time to admire the efforts of Jerry Tuwai who has clearly worked hard to get back for the Games.

“It was never my dream. Rugby was not in the Olympics,” he added. “After the first Olympics, I thought to myself, ‘I can do it again.’ And after the second, ‘I can do it again.’

“Now in my third, I don’t know if I’m going to go again after this but it’s all in God’s hands.”

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J
JW 46 minutes ago
Why England's defence of the realm has crumbled without Felix Jones

This piece is nothing more than the result of revisionist fancy of Northern Hemisphere rugby fans. Seeing what they want to see, helped but some surprisingly good results and a desire to get excited about doing something well.


I went back through the 6N highlights and sure enough in every English win I remembered seeing these exact holes on the inside, that are supposedly the fallout out of a Felix Jones system breaking down in the hands of some replacement. Every time the commentators mentioned England being targeted up the seam/around the ruck or whatever. Each game had a try scored on the inside of the blitz, no doubt it was a theme throughout all of their games. Will Jordan specifically says that Holland had design that move to target space he saw during their home series win.


Well I'm here to tell you they were the same holes in a Felix Jones system being built as well. This woe is now sentiment has got to stop. The game is on a high, these games have been fantastic! It is Englands attack that has seen their stocks increase this year, and no doubt that is what SB told him was the teams priority. Or it's simply science, with Englands elite players having worked towards a new player welfare and management system, as part of new partnership with the ERU, that's dictating what the players can and can't put their bodies through.


The only bit of truth in this article is that Felix is not there to work on fixing his defence. England threw away another good chance of winning in the weekend when they froze all enterprise under pressure when no longer playing attacking footy for the second half. That mindset helped (or not helped if you like) of course by all this knee jerk, red brained criticism.

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