Hong Kong Sevens: Great Britain take third – and set their sights on Olympic qualification
- Newcomers grab victory over Fiji at the death for best-ever result at a HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series tournament
- ‘It’s a work in progress. We’ve made plenty of mistakes this year but we just keep getting better,’ coach Nicholas Wakley says
Victory for Great Britain in the third-place playoff, 22-19 in a thriller over Fiji, will be savoured for now, but attention will quickly turn to the future and to hopes that both sides can soon threaten the women’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series’ two powerhouses.
The gulf in class had been on display in the semi-finals on Sunday, as Great Britain fell to Australia 21-5 and New Zealand beat the Fijians 31-5, but the simple fact the losers had made it through to their first semi-final of the season was reason enough to celebrate.
“They’re the clear stand-outs for me, both teams, and they’re setting standards at the minute,” Nicholas Wakley, the Great Britain coach, said. “We’ve got to get more contact time, got to get harder work done with the group on the team but it’s going in the right direction.
“We knew this was going to be a bit of a rush, in terms of getting everything together, so it’s a work in progress. We’ve made plenty of mistakes this year but hopefully ones that we can correct and we just keep getting better.”
In their first World Rugby Sevens Series, Great Britain are still very much a work in progress, but Wakley has them growing by the tournament.
That much was on display in a riotous play-off, decided with a last-gasp score in the far right corner from Isla Norman-Bell that needed a video replay before it was cleared.
