The original wizard of sevens rugby, Waisele Serevi was handed a commemorative medal from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. The hand over was done by FASANOC chief executive Lorraine Mar in recognition of Serevi’s efforts in bringing back the sport of rugby into the Olympic family.

Serevi was happy with the recognition and said he was glad to be a part of the Olympics in a way.

In a recent interview with Planet Rugby, Serevi said he believes that the Olympics needed the sport of rugby.

“I believed rugby needed the Olympics, and the Olympics needed rugby,” he said.

“After we spoke to the IOC, we heard a lot of other sports were listening and they said to us, we support rugby, we believe that rugby should be in the Olympics in 2016.

“They all supported it and I can feel that in that atmosphere, all the people who came said, we believe rugby will make it to the Olympics.”

After an absence of 92 years, Serevi’s ambassadorial pleas helped secure rugby’s long-awaited Olympics return at this month’s Games in Rio.

Former World Rugby chairman and International Olympic Committee member Bernard Lapasset, the man credited for the introduction of sevens rugby to the Olympics revealed that it was Fijian maestro Waisale Serevi that convinced him to promote the sport.

Source: FASANOC

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