Tuwai — our sports personality for 2021
THE 2021 sporting year definitely belonged to Fiji’s ‘Little Master’ Jerry Tuwai.
He captained the men’s 7s team which returned home with the spoils from the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, and he became the first 7s player on the planet to win back-to-back Olympic Games rugby gold medal.
For Tuwai, the HSBC WRSS player of the decade and captain of Fiji, the gold medal draped around his neck after the 27-12 win over the All Blacks Sevens meant more than the celebrated prize he took home from Rio de Janeiro five years ago. Fiji defeated the Kiwis, one of the world’s pre-eminent rugby powers, in the rugby 7s gold medal match. The sport made its Olympics debut at the 2016 Rio Games, which Fiji also won by crushing Great Britain.
Thus, in 12 games of Olympics competition, the Fijian men have yet to lose.
Sharing his story with The Guardian, Jerry Tuwai said, “We always start with our prayers and songs, and we always end with our prayers and songs, and that song says that our God is a loving God, and that while we always tend to go astray from what He expects from us, He still loves us, and gives us good things.”
The victory in Tokyo was special as it was at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Tuwai had a huge load on his shoulders.
Head coach Gareth Baber called the Fiji 7s team into a fiveday training camp the day after Easter. Two days in, Fiji went into lockdown, and the players and coaches had not seen their families since.
They stayed and trained together. Tuwai, at one point, tried to leave the camp because he missed his three young kids, but Baber encouraged him and the boys, and showed them the bigger picture. Tuwai’s squad had been on the road in a bio-secure bubble for several months, and had to quarantine when they got back to Fiji. Jerry shared with Sky Sports that the sacrifices from players and staff, their families and their supporters made the Tokyo gold medal more significant than the first one.
He added, “It’s more special. We’ve been away from our family for about five or six months. I think this one is special.”
Hence, Jerry guided the side to Townsville, and then to Tokyo where our boys beat the All Blacks Sevens to win the elusive gold medal. Fijian sensation Jerry Tuwai also won the 2019 World Men’s
7s Player of the Year Award, and in doing so he beat two-time World Rugby Men’s 7s Player of the Year Perry Baker and other World
Rugby Men’s
Sevens Players of the Year recipients Mikaele Pesamino (Samoa), Tomasi Cama and Tim Mikkelson (NZ), Samisoni Viriviri (Fiji), and Werner Kok, Seabelo Senatla and Cecil Afrika (South Africa).
The 2019 WRSS Player of the Year was nominated for the third year running after once again carving open defences at will with his vision and step, and making the most of his diminutive frame to dart through gaps to create opportunities for himself or those around him. Tuwai won the World Rugby Men’s 7s Player of the Decade Award as he had the Olympics gold medal that none of those contesting, apart from Samisoni Virivi,
had.
Tuwai became the first Fijian player to taste 18 cup title wins in the WRSS circuit and three WRSS overall titles. Jerry is also Fiji’s all-time top try scorer.
Tuwai is far too humble to sing his own praises, but with 18 cup finals, one gold medal, and three World Series titles, he’s not only the man of the year in 7s rugby, he’s one of the greatest players of all time. Jerry, who made his debut for Fiji at the 2014 Gold Coast 7s, was named player of the tournament at the 2014 World Club 7s where he played for Davetalevu.
Jerry was also named the Player of the Final at the 2015 Dubai Sevens where Fiji beat South Africa in the final 29-17 after hammering NZ in the semis 44-0. He was the stand out player at the 2015 Las Vegas Sevens final when Fiji beat New Zealand 35-19 in the final. Jerry’s performance during his debut in 2014 was praised by former 7s coach Ben Ryan, saying that it was one of the best debuts that he had ever seen from a 7s player. At the end of the 2014 season, he was named the best rookie of the WRSS circuit by World Rugby. Tuwai was an integral part of the Fiji 7s squad that competed at the 2016 Olympics.
It was the first time that Fiji won an Olympic medal, and this gave the country something to cheer, especially after the devastation caused by STC Winston.
Tuwai, who is known for his agility, sharp decision-making and his ability to step defenders without losing speed, is also notable for his commitment to the physical side of the game, being a force at the breakdown and making an impact with his defence. Tuwai’s stardom has not come easy and to this day, he credits his mom and dad for his achievements on the rugby field, and cites them as his motivation to perform and achieve accolades in rugby.
Tuwai has credited his parents for his humility. When he was young, Tuwai’s father and mother saved enough money to buy him his first pair of rugby boots. As she handed them over, she told him, “This is your knife and fork”.
This motivated Jerry a lot, and he continues to achieve success as a result of his hard work, dedication, commitment and faith in the Lord.
This year, our hero missed the opening leg of the Dubai 7s tournament as he was preparing to take his wedding vows with his sweetheart, Mereani Folau, the mother of their three children.
Tuwai is a humble man, and he is a down-to-earth gentleman who has made an impact on the lives of many Fijians, including the youth.
I thank Jerry Tuwai for his steadfastness, his vision and for his service to Fiji! All the best Jerry Tuwai!
RAJNESH LINGAM is a contributor to this newspaper. The views expressed are his and not necessarily of this newspaper or his employer.