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Black Ferns Sevens star Ruby Tui is the latest viral sensation to come out of the Tokyo Olympics.
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Fresh off her side’s 36-0 victory over the Russian Olympic Committee in the quarter-final of the women’s rugby sevens tournament on Friday, Tui provided a spirited and energetic interview with the BBC’s Jill Douglas.
Tui was so captivating that a video of the interview, posted by Currie on Twitter, has been viewed 1.6m times and has garnered more than 16,000 likes.
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“BBC – better be clear!” Tui began with a cheeky grin before addressing the camera in Samoan and then giving her thoughts in English.
“Russia, they are very cool people, man. We get on with them, very lovely people, but on the field, they are bloody tough.
“They’re a tough, tough team and, to be honest, they weren’t at the last Olympics, so this is huge for them. Massive congratulations to Russia, thank you so much.
“I don’t want to say the score made it look easy, but it was not easy. Don’t be fooled! That was not an easy game, lots of running. My GPS just blew up, that’s how hard it was! Lots of respect for Russia.”
Tui, a veteran of the Black Ferns Sevens side and a silver medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, was then asked for her thoughts on the Great Britain side.
The 29-year-old has rarely played the British side given the Black Ferns Sevens normally compete against England, Wales and Scotland as separate entities on the World Sevens Series circuit.
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Tui made note of that, in typically enthusiastic and comedic fashion.
“I love how GB come together,” she said. “They’re all split up but then for the Olympics [come together] … it’s funny because in the scrum, they’ll probably hate me saying this, sorry Abbie [Brown], but when they go down, they go, ‘England!’
“Like they’re real proud to be England, but they can’t do it here, so Abbie’s gotta go, ‘GB!’ when she goes down.
Thanks @JoCurrie having a blast here in Tokyo ?? https://t.co/JTK5vhiC5q
— Rubes Tui (@rubytui) July 30, 2021
“Everybody comes together. Scotland have got a couple of really good players in there. Wales, obviously, [Jasmin] Joyce is bloody gas. Gassed a couple of us, even.
“I love the whole concept of GB, and like I said, huge congratulations to Great Britain and all the people of that place, because they fundraised, they worked hard, they campaigned.
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“I think even a couple of us donated and they ended up at the Olympics, so huge, huge mahi … big job, sorry, mahi means job.”
Douglas then went to end the interview due to the impending rain, which had wreaked havoc during day two of the women’s tournament, to which Tui replied: “What rain? Bring on the thunder! We’re at the Olympics, just be happy. Let’s compete safely and peacefully. Peace and love. Love you guys.”
The response on Twitter has been emphatically positive, as a number of onlookers have praised Tui’s positivity and authenticity.
Tui and the Black Ferns Sevens will continue their bid for an Olympic gold medal on Saturday when they meet Great Britain in the tournaments semi-finals on Saturday.
