Australia wins Oceania Olympic sevens qualifying tournament in Auckland

AUSTRALIA have qualified to contest the inaugural men’s rugby sevens gold medal at next year’s Olympic Games.

The Thunderbolts showed they would be a genuine gold medal contender by sweeping through the Oceania regional qualifying tournament in Auckland on Sunday.

They emphatically grabbed their cherished Rio berth by thrashing Tonga 50-0 in the final — running in eight tries.

Australia, ranked fifth in the world, had been expected to meet Samoa in the final but Tonga pulled off the upset of the weekend with a 41-5 thumping in their semi-final.


The Islanders were no match for Tim Walsh’s team however as the Australians romped to a 31-0 halftime lead as both captain Ed Jenkins and Pama Fou each scored a double.

The Thunderbolts’ triumph means both Australia’s men’s and women’s sides will play in Rio after the Pearls gained automatic qualification with third place in this year’s world series.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/au...ce=twitterfeed

It's good to see they qualified. But you just can't get away from the feeling it's a bit like the last place prize in a Cup sweep.

When my baby smiles at me I go to Rio, well done lads :approve:

Saw some highlights this arvo, did they play this qualifying comp at a local park?

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Originally Posted by jargan83

Saw some highlights this arvo, did they play this qualifying comp at a local park?

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Maybe they should have played it in a country that was actually competing in the tournament.

That would have been helpful. Probably would have got a good crowd if held in Samoa or Tonga.

Apparently it was free entry too, somewhere in Auckland I think