Dubai a big chapter in Ryan’s book
‘SEVENS HEAVEN’ DETAILS FAMOUS 44-0 THRASHING OF NEW ZEALAND IN 2013 AMONG OTHER HIGH POINTS
Dubai features prominently in former England and Fiji sevens coach Ben Ryan’s autobiography Sevens Heaven, which was released on May 31.
The 46-year-old Englishman led England to two consecutive Dubai titles in 2010 and 2011, before winning two with Fiji in 2013 and 2015 on their way to back-to-back World Series titles and a historic first Olympic gold medal at Rio 2016.
His most meaningful Dubai win was perhaps his first with Fiji in only his second event in charge of the islanders however, when he beat his old side England 26-21 to top the group and then thrashed rival Gordon Tietjens’ New Zealand 44-0 in the semi-final, before beating South Africa 29-17 in the final. This victory arguably set the tone for what he went on to achieve.
“Fiji had never won the Dubai Sevens in more than 25 years of trying, but we were too good this time for England, by a solitary try at least, and then against reigning world champions New Zealand in the semi-final, all that beautiful chaos suddenly came together in 14 rampaging minutes,” read excerpts.
“In the dressing room beforehand, I hadn’t been sure. The players were singing and dancing, something none of my England players ever did until the Christmas party,” he recalls.
Relaxed atmosphere
“They were joking around with each other, relaxed, not thinking about our opponents at all. I had also given them Red Bull for the first time, which had felt a bit like giving a can of it to your mother.
“The outcome could not be entirely predicted, but it would certainly be interesting.
“We absolutely blitzed them. Everything we touched came off — tries from everywhere, rugby that had you whooping, the most successful team in World Series history so stunned that they were shouting at each other on the pitch, which was bad enough among the seven of them but was even worse when they accidentally put eight on the pitch instead.
“We won 44-0. New Zealand’s heaviest-ever defeat. Eight tries to nil, Osea and ■ ■