Expect it Tough: Norton says

The Fiji Airways sevens team has a chance to retain the Olympic gold medal but should expect tough competition from teams like New Zealand and South Africa.

Former England winger Dan Norton says Fiji is far better to lose every tournament this year but win the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.

"I don't think it's fair to say Fiji is out," he said.

"I think there's the standard as a whole very strong, massive, amazing players obviously playing with Fiji. It's not about winning every tournament. I think the Fiji people would rather lose every tournament this year.

"The Olympic prize is the end, the gold medal, but obviously you want to be playing as well as you can in the season as well."

The Englishman, who is the leading all-time try scorer in the World Rugby Sevens Series with over 350 tries, beating the previous record of 244 held by Kenya's Collins Injera at the 2017 Hong Kong Sevens tournament, continues to follow the series to date.

He said the fluctuations show that the whole series has been competitive. Norton is here as the ambassador of 2024 McDonald's Fiji's Coral Coast Sevens.

"Fiji, probably want to do better and be better as a team but I think all the other teams around them, New Zealand, and South Africa, and all other teams are doing well too. It's more a show of the level of the series rather than the Fiji team itself."

He was impressed with the competition on Day One, which included the men, women and youth divisions.

"The level of the physicality, the way the ball is kept alive; it is amazing to see the Fiji team.

"At the series to be seeing so many more imprints and it is in their DNA here, in the country. It's really refreshing to see the different levels and the way the game is played.

"The fans love it, the noise the buzz and the crowd. It's really impressive to see the scale of the tournament as well."

Norton won a silver medal at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, he scored a try for Great Britain in the final, it failed to prevent a 43-7 drubbing by Fiji.

He helped GB rugby sevens team secure bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast with a 21-14 win over South Africa and the same side won silver at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco.

Norton helped England U20s to a Six Nations Grand Slam title in 2008. He also competed for the England U18s in the 2006--07 season.

He made his sevens debut  for England in 2009.

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