TIME certainly flies, as it seems only yesterday that Fiji was celebrating its inaugural Olympics gold medal success with former captain Osea Kolinisau and his 7s team heroes.
During this time the nation came together to celebrate a wonderful achievement which was ultimately down to the players hard work and dedication.
As we look back I thought to revisit our former captains past achievements and his present status.
Kolinisau turns 34 this year, but has been a loyal and humble servant to Fiji rugby during his time in the national side.
He made his debut at the age of 23 in the 2008 Dubai Sevens tournament and was impressive during the season.
Standing about five feet nine inches tall and weighing around 88kgs he certainly isn’t a big man but was agile and fast which is certainly the ingredients needed to make a successful 7s player on the world circuit.
To add to this Kolinisau had a remarkable line of vision being able to pick runners out and off-load at the right time to set up tries for his teammates and make tries himself.
Originally spotted for his running ability and great try scoring record Osea slowly but surely worked on the fundamentals and became a well rounded and central figure in the national side.
In 2013 the 7s coaches were looking for a reliable and dedicated person to lead Fiji to greater heights, the decision to find such a man was difficult as most of the players certainly had the ability to play great rugby but what they didn’t have was leadership skills to be prepared to take the team and lead them with authority.
When the time was right and he had matured as a player both physically and mentally the captaincy was handed over to Kolinisau.
At first this was certainly not an easy task as playing for the national side and then leading them does add more pressure to an individual, but as time went by Osea grew in the role and became a stand-out captain for the team.
He grew as a person during this time and went on to win 2013/14 world sevens series as Fiji’s captain.
His overall record for representing our country is a very impressive one, with 261 appearances in total and 1131 points scored; this was achieved between 2008 and 2017.
The crowning glory for Kolinisau’s career came in 2016 at the Rio Olympics; it was here that he was given the honour to be Fiji’s flag-bearer for the nation and lead out the team during the opening ceremony.
He said this was indeed one of the most memorable times of his life.
Little did he know the crowning glory was still to come, Kolinisau who was captain of the Fiji sevens team now led them to the Holy Grail which was a gold medal and Fiji’s first ever medal at an Olympic Games.
Fiji eventually won gold by beating Team Great Britain comfortably in the final by 43-7 with Kolinisau scoring the first try.
The Holy Grail of sports was achieved and Kolinisau had led his team with composure and commitment.
The following year after the Olympics, Osea was given a lucrative deal and signed with the Houston Strikers, who are part of the Major League Rugby competition in the United States.
Kolinisau explained “I’m thankful to the Lord and the Strikers management for this exciting opportunity to be a part of the Houston Strikers rugby family.
I’m looking forward to the new challenge.”
This is a great achievement for Osea Kolinisau, who I am sure as a child could never have imagined in his wildest dreams that he would play for his beloved Fiji in the national side. Not only that but captaining the team and finally leading them to Olympic Gold glory.
This is indeed a fairytale career for Osea and his family, but as we all know with hard work, commitment and dedication you can achieve anything.
