Unity and improvement in performance are two lessons we can take away from our men’s and women’s impressive rugby sevens success at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan.

This was the message from Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama while congratulating both teams yesterday.

The men’s team won the gold medal while the women’s team claimed the bronze medal after beating Great Britain 21-12 on Saturday night.

“Victory is ours! Our men’s team conquered the gold, again our women’s team, with a massive improvement from Rio, won the bronze,” Bainimarama who is also the Fiji Rugby Union president said.

“So let me, first of all, congratulate the men’s and women’s sevens teams for their impressive performances at the Toyo Olympics.

“They’ve made our nation proud and their victory has again amplified Fiji on the world map.”

When the Prime Minister farewelled the Team Fiji contingent two weeks ago, he reminded them that it is not the size of the team in the fight that matters, but rather the size of the fight in the team.

“Both teams displayed that fighting spirit when they beat better-resourced teams, teams from major countries who have traditionally dominated the games,” he said.

“There are lessons we can take away from our teams’ impressive performance in Tokyo that can help us during this challenging time we are facing.

“First, unity is essential if we are to overcome. Second, improving the quality of our performance, which is absolutely vital.”

Team Fiji women’s rugby sevens head coach, Saiasi Fuli said they are grateful to the Government and the Fiji Rugby Union for the assistance given to them.

“The positive results is for our country as we are going through his difficult time. We hope that the success will provide some joy and bring a smile from our people,” he added.

Edited by Leone Cabenatabua

Feedback: sereana.salalo@fijisun.com.fj