As Australia and the USA battled it out in their very own Olympic males’s quarter-final on Thursday night, Eire’s Chay Mullins tried to seek out the phrases to summarise what had simply occurred.
On the again of a promising SVNS Sequence marketing campaign which noticed the lads in inexperienced end second on the finish of the common season, Eire got here into the Paris Video games genuinely believing that they may problem for a medal, and hopefully a gold one.
The Irish dropped one match in pool play to New Zealand 14-12, however after beating South Africa and Japan earlier in that stage of the competitors, they certified for the all-important quarter-finals. Ready for them was a reasonably robust problem towards the Fijians.
Fiji have received the one two males’s rugby sevens gold medals in Olympic Video games historical past they usually appeared determined to make {that a} hat-trick at Stade de France. Eire led 15-7 with simply over three minutes to play however in a flash, the match bought away from them.
Joji Nasova and Waisea Nacuqu scored a strive every as Fiji took a four-point lead with a few minutes left to play. It was a nervy finish to the fixture with Eire providing one final assault with time up on the clock, however a wayward cross from Terry Kennedy determined it.
Fiji kicked the ball out and Eire’s Paris Olympics dream was over.
“I’m sort of simply speechless actually. Gutted is the principle emotion, to be sincere,” Mullins stated on the Olympics broadcast.
“We’re getting out right here with a purpose of simply clearly, yesterday it was successful these two video games and as we speak it was getting previous the quarter-final – we didn’t try this.
“Simply trying ahead to Saturday… we’ve bought two extra video games, an opportunity to proper our wrongs just a little bit. It’s not each day you get an Olympics.
“We’re simply trying to end on a excessive actually as a gaggle.”
As Mullins spoke, you may see how disenchanted, gutted and even a bit pissed off he was. This Irish facet hadn’t performed badly however identical to their performances on the SVNS Sequence, they weren’t in a position to maintain on in knockout rugby.
Eire completed second within the SVNS Sequence League this 12 months regardless of solely enjoying in a single Cup Last, and that was a loss to New Zealand in SVNS Singapore. That they had made quite a few semi-finals however tended to lack some consistency in these must-win matches.
Once they go away and replicate on the 2 losses on the Olympics to New Zealand and Fiji, the Eire enjoying group will doubtless agree that they need to’ve received these matches. Particularly, the quarter-final loss, it was there for the taking.
However as Mullins defined: “I believe it was roughly simply resolution making and simply slight change off actually.
“We managed the sport very well towards Fiji there within the first half and there have been elements within the second half the place we did very well once more.
“I simply assume it was simply moments the place we let it slip actually.”
Eire’s will nonetheless have some matches to play on the Paris Olympics however it is going to be fifth-place at finest. They’ll tackle Perry Baker’s USA on Saturday after which both the winner or loser of New Zealand versus Argentina.
There’s a relaxation day for the opening ceremony earlier than rugby sevens motion resumes at Stade de France on ‘day one’ of the Video games this weekend. Which means Eire can have extra time to consider the loss, however that may very well be a very good factor as they appear to finish their Video games on a excessive.
“All we will actually do it look to the final two video games,” Mullins added.
“We are able to see how we let it slip, what we did improper, additionally what we did effectively as a result of I believe there was big moments in that recreation the place we seemed, effectively, we all know we’re a top-class staff. There’s simply moments that confirmed that.
“We are able to solely simply take that into the following two video games.”
