FIJI Airways Fiji men’s 7s head coach Osea Kolinisau hopes to be an inspiration to upcoming rugby players.
This was his response when asked about his induction into the RugbyTown Walk of Fame at the upcoming McDonald’s Fiji’s Coral Coast 7s tournament.
Kolinisau who is this year’s tournament ambassador will join the likes of David Campese, Waisale Serevi, Jonah Lomu, Ben Gollings, Viliame Satala, Karl TeNana, Lote Tuqiri, George Gregan, DJ Forbes, Bryan Habana, Rupeni Caucaunibuca, Noa Nadruku, Collins Injera, Dan Norton and Sir Gordon Tietjens in the Walk of Fame at Rugby Town in Sigatoka.
“I’m privileged and honoured that the organizers see fit to include me into their Walk of Fame,” he said.
The Namuka-i-Lau native has done a lot for Fiji Rugby as a player before taking on the role as Fiji 7s head coach in March 2024.
He led the Fiji 7s team to Olympic glory in Rio, 2016 as well as back-to-back HSBC World Rugby SVNS Series titles in 2015 and 2016.
Kolinisau was the flag bearer at the opening ceremony in Rio and scored the first of Fiji’s seven tries in the final as they defeated Great Britain 43-7 to win the gold medal.
It was Fiji’s first Olympic medal of any colour.
Still in 2016, Kolinisau was nominated for the World Rugby Men’s Sevens Player of the Year award only to miss out to South Africa’s Seabelo Senatla.
He was captain of the Fiji 7s team from 2013-2017, appearing in 62 event on the World Series with a tally of 1,272 points.
“I am thankful for the journey that God has taken me through and hopefully I inspire more Fijian young boys to follow in my footsteps,” he added.
One of his memorable performances was during the 2013 final of the Hong Kong 7s where he came off the bench to score to three tries and help Fiji secure a famous comeback victory against Wales.
Kolinisau retired from top level sevens in May, 2017.
