THE Hong Kong 7s is here again.
Fiji’s eyes is the Vodafone Fiji 7s team, to win, and to bring back the title.
One man who has been credited for Fiji’s win is former coach Ben Ryan.
He was inducted into the Fiji Hall of Fame last week for his success as the national 7s coach, especially in winning Fiji’s first Olympic Games medal, and gold medal.
Ryan, FASANOC reported, stamped his mark as the Fiji Rugby sevens head coach from 2013 – 2016.
In September 2013, in only his second outing with the Fiji sevens team, he led them to a tournament victory, winning the Dubai Sevens for the first time in the nation’s history.
Ben guided the Fiji’s sevens team to historic achievements, starting with Fiji’s first ever Dubai Seven’s title, setting the highest ever record of tournament titles won (9) by a Fiji Sevens coach, to winning the inaugural rugby 7s competition at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
The gold medal represents the first ever Olympic Games medal won by Fiji.
With Ben as coach, Fiji won two series in the 2013-14 season and four in the 2014-15, overtaking the record set by former coach, Waisale Serevi, who won four cup titles with Fiji. In May 2015, Fiji was crowned the overall winners of the 2014-15 7s world series after defeating South Africa in the cup quarter-final of the 2015 London 7s, giving Ben his first ever sevens series title.
Under Ben’s leadership, Fiji won three more tournaments in the 2015-16 season and took out the overall title, taking his tally to 9 titles, the highest ever by any coach for Fiji.
At the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Ben coached Fiji to a gold medal performance in the inaugural rugby 7s competition, where the Fiji 7s team not only became the first ever rugby 7s Olympic Games champion, but they also won Fiji’s first medal in the history of the nation’s participation at the Olympic Games, since 1956.
In the words of Fiji captain Osea Kolinisau: “For years, we’ve been trying to get back the Fijian flair and what Ben did was bring that out and a lot of consistency that was lacking in our game.”
In August 2016, the Vunivalu of Serua in Fiji, bestowed Ben the Fijian name of Ratu Peni Rayani Latianara along with three acres of land in Serua, a province he claims to be his home town.
After winning Gold and returning to Fiji, Ben was accorded the highest order when he was awarded the Companion of the Order of Fiji.
The team was also awarded the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) Best Male Team at the Rio Olympic Games with FASANOC receiving the ANOC Breakthrough NOC of Rio 2016 being one of nine NOCs to win its first Olympic Games medal.
For his outstanding contributions to Rugby in Fiji, FASANOC is delighted to confer the Fiji Olympic Order to Benjamin Ryan, congratulations and vinaka vakalevu.
