Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama believes the historic bronze medal achievement by the Fijiana has set a precedent that young girls in Fiji will now wish to emulate.
In his social media post, Bainimarama said the country had now witnessed a legacy in the making from our Fijiana in Tokyo.
He said ahead of the Rio Olympics, there were 200 registered women rugby players in Fiji.
“Now, there are more than 1000 with the eyes of the young women of Fiji upon these heroes and no doubt we’ll soon see many thousands more,” he said.
Bainimarama said although the girls were unlucky not to get to the fi nal, they had shown the world more than they set out to do.
Meanwhile, the Fijiana team shocked and silenced the pundits after knocking out the defending gold medallists 14-12 in the quarter-finals before a controversial still unsettling 22-17 loss to New Zealand in the semi-final who went on to win the gold medal match against France.
Bainimarama said although we may not have agreed with the results, the Fijiana remained champions in the eyes of its people.
“We may not all agree what constitutes a knock-on, but I know we can all agree our Fijiana played their hearts out.
“From eigth place in the Rio Olympics, to defeating the reigning gold medallists in Australia and the bronze medallist in Canada, our Fijiana Olympians have already earned their place on the pedestal of rugby in Fiji, hail Fijiana!”
The prime minister said it was the beginning of a new chapter in women’s rugby for the nation and the start of a bright future.
He said the best was yet to come.
