Tokyo Olympics 2020: Nervy Australia edge out Samoa to secure rugby men’s sevens berth

It was nervy stuff but Australia’s men’s rugby sevens team are finally headed for Japan next year, but only after a second-half surge proved too much for Samoa in a tense Oceania playoff.

The relief was palpable after Australia secured their passage to Tokyo.

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Australia and Fiji have qualified for the men’s and women’s rugby sevens at the Tokyo Olympics next year following their wins at the Oceania championship in Fiji.

In the men’s Olympic qualifier final, Australia edged Samoa 19-12 while Fiji beat Papua New Guinea 36-0 in the women’s final.

Samoa and Tonga qualified for an Olympic repechage tournament in the men’s section as did Papua New Guinea and Samoa in the women’s.

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The relief was palpable after Australia secured their passage to Tokyo.

Australia men’s captain Lewis Holland said his side had put in a lot of hard work to qualify for the Olympics.

“The last three months have been building towards this moment because we didn’t qualify through the World Series,” Holland said.

Samoa had control of the first half and turned with a 12-0 lead before Australia rallied with three tries in the second half including one from the captain.

Fiji dominated the women’s final with six unanswered tries against Papua New Guinea.

The New Zealand and Fiji men’s teams, who are taking part in the Oceania Sevens championship run in conjunction with the Olympic qualifier, have already confirmed their berths in Tokyo as have New Zealand and Australia in the women’s section.

Originally published as Tokyo Olympics 2020: Nervy Australia edge out Samoa to secure rugby men’s sevens berth