Fiji sevens star opens up on how team’s struggles have brought ‘us together'

Joseva Talacolo has briefly opened up about the “struggle” and sacrifice the Fijian players have had to go through ahead of the Olympic Games. Fiji are through to the semi-finals in Paris but that doesn’t happen without hard work and dedication.

Fiji seemed to have peaked at the right time on the back of the work they’ve done in training. When you're the two-time Olympic gold medallists, there's a lot of pressure and expectation that comes along with that status.

They would’ve been desperate to prove to the world once again why they are a team to beat.

On the SVNS Series, the Fijians started the season relatively strong in Dubai, Cape Town and Perth before suffering a couple of agonising quarter-final defeats in Vancouver and Los Angeles. They improved a bit in Hong Kong China but fell apart in Singapore.

With new coach Osea Kolinisau in charge, Fiji failed to make it beyond the bottom four at Singapore’s National Stadium. That finish was potentially a cause for concern late in the season but they've seemed to learn some key lessons.

On the back of a confidence-building top-four finish at the SVNS Series Grand Final in Madrid, Fiji have continued to their ascent as a rugby sevens force to be reckoned with once again.

“Because of the effort we do in the past two months of camp, the struggle we’ve going through,” Joseva Talacolo said on the Olympics broadcast, as seen on Stan Sport in Australia.

“We’ve been away from our family for one month now.

“That’s what brings us together to achieve our win this afternoon.”

Fiji beat Uruguay 40-12 in their opening pool match before dispatching the USA 38-12 later on the first day. Those two wins were the second and third largest winning margins on a famous day for rugby sevens.

They continued their unbeaten run with a 19-12 win over Antoine Dupont’s France but it wouldn’t get any easier for them ahead of a blockbuster quarter-final against the fighting Irish. Ireland were very consistent on the Series this year and were tipped to challenge for a medal.

But Fiji were good enough in the end to keep their unbeaten run at any Olympic Games alive with a 19-15 win in the quarter-final. It was heartbreak for the Irish but euphoria for a Fiji outfit who truly believe they can go all the way.

Waiting for them in the semi-finals is Australia, who qualified for their first-ever men’s semi-final after beating the USA 18-nil. Corey Toole scored one and almost had another as the men in gold recorded what will go down in history as a famous win.

“It’s been a good couple of days. We haven’t played the best we can but we’ve got the wins which is the most important thing,” Corey Toole said in a statement.

“A lot of the pressure comes from our defence. We’ve connected as a line in defence and that’s what has won us our games.

“It’s special to not only represent myself and family but everyone supporting back home in Australia.

“Hopefully, we can do everyone proud in the semi. We’ll go back and review Fiji and give it everything we’ve got.”