Go behind the scenes of Fiji’s incredible journey to Olympic gold
‘Sevens from Heaven’ documentary filmmaker Bruce Southwick chronicles the every day lives of the Fijian players, culminating in the Pacific islanders’ success at the Rio Games, where they cemented their status as legends of the game
Bruce Southwick was in the Fiji team van on the way to a training session before the Las Vegas Sevens when Pio Tuwai, who was in the next seat, hugged him. The strapping sevens forward fell asleep and used Southwick as a pillow.
“He put his arms around me and gave me a big hug,” said photographer and filmmaker Southwick. “He then fell asleep in the van and just about crushed me through the door. I didn’t have the heart to wake him up and had cramps in my legs.”
Tuwai’s hug was symbolic of just how close Southwick was to Fiji players. Indeed, he was embraced by all of the players, including revered coach Ben Ryan, allowing the New Zealand-born journalist to shoot intimate and gritty footage for his documentary “Sevens from Heaven” that chronicled the Fiji team’s journey to Olympic Games gold in Rio de Janeiro last year.
Southwick, 47, said he was inspired to follow the Fiji team after the arrival of Englishman Ryan as coach, and he admitted he needed to convince Ryan and the players that his intentions were genuine.
Watch: Sevens from Heaven
“Basically, I’ve been following Fiji rugby since 2007 in 15s and sevens,” said Southwick. “Ben Ryan came along and fixed our kick-off and line-out and straight away I thought this guy must be pretty smart, so I followed the team for three years leading up to the Rio Olympics.
