A GROUP of rugby 7s çrazy Fijian fans spent more than $80,000 to follow and support our 7s gladiators at the Rio Olympics.
The group of eight Fijian women from Fiji and Australia had been supporting the national 7s team during the World Sevens Rugby Series for the past five years and the Rio trip was the culmination of their support for the boys, especially to witness the team create history.
The Fiji Times met the group who called themselves the “Fiji cheerleaders” during an ONOC function at Copacabana on Monday.
They said they didn’t regret spending huge sums of money for the Rio Olympics because they were passionate about the Fijian brand of 7s rugby.
Group member Merelita McCarthy said they planned for this trip last year and sacrificed their Las Vegas 7s trip to save money for the Rio Olympics.
She said the Fiji cheerleaders group was a network of friends who lived in Fiji and Australia.
They have been touring the world supporting the 7s boys and even though they didn’t get anything in return, Mrs McCarthy said the excitement, happiness and joy brought by the Fijian 7s team was something that money could not buy.
Mrs McCarthy said to raise the total of $80,000 was achieved through less spending and more savings.
“We have sacrificed enough to fulfil our target of coming to Rio to support the boys,” she said.
“For this Rio trip alone we collected more than $80,000, meaning $10,000 per person.
“We know it is a huge sum of money, but we believe our presence like all other Fijian fans will in a way inspire our boys to do well.
“The decision to follow the 7s team started during one of our informal and friendly discussions through social media some five years ago.
“The idea to follow the team to Rio was floated through our chat group and everyone agreed to save money for the Rio trip.
“We didn’t regret spending this much money and to see our boys win the gold medal is the best thing we could have wished for. Every single penny used for this Rio tour was worth it and we were glad to witness history being created by our 7s team.
“We hugged each other after the final whistle knowing our trip was worth it and as money was not an issue.”
