- Australian men have booked a semi-final
- Will play against reigning gold medal winners Fiji
- Have taken inspiration from the Prime Minister who fueled the America’s Cup victory
Forty-one years after his words inspired Australia to its famous America’s Cup victory, the late Bob Hawke has done it again.
It was the former prime minister who Australian men’s sevens coach John Manenti turned to before the team left their Olympic village in Paris to play the United States in a quarter-final, winning 18-0.
In 1983, Hawke told Australia II captain John Bertrand to “destroy those bastards” before they would effectively end the US’s 132-year stranglehold on the cup.
Bertrand was a guest at Manenti’s team training camp earlier this year and the quarter-final against the USA was played as scheduled.
“One of the slides I showed the guys before we left was a quote from Bob Hawke, who had said to the crew, ‘Go and destroy those bastards’,” Manenti said after they booked a semi-final against two-time reigning champions Fiji on Saturday.
“It was just a reminder that Australia-America has a certain history and just like yesterday we felt obliged to get Australia’s Olympic campaign off to a good start.”
The victory ended a run of quarter-final exits for Australia’s men at the previous two Games.
The Australian men’s rugby sevens team has reached the semi-finals of the Paris Olympic Games
Former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke inspired Australia II captain John Bertrand to win the America’s Cup and now his message is inspiring the Australian men’s rugby sevens
Australia led 10-0 at half-time, took control and scored through James Turner and Corey Toole before Maurice Longbottom slotted home a penalty, turning a loose ball over himself to complete the win.
Australia had defeated World Series standout Argentina 22-14 earlier this year after beating Samoa and Kenya on opening day Wednesday.
The quarter-final victory was more down to strong defence than silky smooth attack, with Mark Nawaqanitawase on the bench as time expired after a brilliant performance against Argentina.
“Winning ugly is okay,” Manenti said.
“It wasn’t our best performance, but we’ve played better and lost games. This game was very important to win.
“I know we can fire more weapons there and we’ll need them.”
The Australian men’s rugby sevens team will face reigning gold medal winners Fiji in their semi-final.
The teams have a day off before the opening ceremony on Friday evening, before the medals are presented at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Earlier, Fiji were undefeated in the Olympic competition, having beaten Ireland 19-15. The decisive try appeared to be the result of a knock-on from Fiji that went unnoticed.
South Africa will play hosts France in the other semi-final after beating New Zealand 14-7.
In front of a packed house, the French were ahead 21-0 over Argentina at half-time.
But they conceded two tries in the second half and had to make do with one man in the penalty box for the final minutes.
French 15-a-side captain Antoine Dupont showed his composure by running out the clock and then ringing a dummy at the last moment, before running away like a rocket to win the match 26-14.