Celebrations are continuing in Fiji for the country's Olympic champion rugby sevens team.
Today is a public holiday in Fiji in honour of the country's gold medal triumph in Rio, with the team taking part in a parade through the capital Suva before arriving to a packed crowd of supporters at ANZ Stadium.
Tens of thousands of Fijians also turned out in Nadi yesterday for the team's arrival home.
The stands were packed at ANZ Stadium in Suva for the Fiji sevens team's welcome home celebration. Photo: Fiji Government
Supporters lined the streets, cheering and waving flags, from Nadi International Airport to Prince Charles Park where close to 8000 fans greeted the team as they were officially welcomed home by the Fiji government.
Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama congratulated the team on their gold medal-winning effort in Rio before the team's British coach, Ben Ryan, told the crowd a story about the sevens final in Rio.
"It was the biggest game in the history of rugby sevens, the Olympic Games gold-medal game. A game watched by almost a million people across the world," he said.
"After the game I got a text message from Buzz Aldrin, who was the second person to land on the moon, saying how great Fiji had played," he said.
"But I watched our boys run out. They were skipping and jumping, shouting toso viti toso, we didn't have any cones, we didn't have any tackle shields, I didn't have to blow my whistle, we did a short warm-up, I couldn't stop them smiling and when I see them smiling and I see them relaxed I know they'll be relaxed and they'll be ruthless," Ryan said to big cheers.
Fiji coach Ben Ryan during Fiji's Olympic gold medal celebrations. Photo: Fiji Government
"Great Britain ran out. I could see the way they were running they were tense, their shoulders were tense, their jaws were tense - you can guess that our boys weren't tense. We jogged out, they smiled, they got to the tunnel, they shook the referee's hand and wished him good luck and they went to run out on the field.
"And that moment when I watched them run out I realised why we were going to win that final - because it wasn't seven people running out, and it wasn't just the rest of the population behind them. The pressure wasn't on their shoulders, the boys were on the shoulders of every Fijian in this island.
"This is the nation's team, this is the reason why they've won gold. It's got nothing to do with anybody with ginger hair from England - it's got everything to do with the boys in Fiji.
"Oscar Kolinisau and the boys deserve every accolade they've got - they are an amazing group of people - but the biggest accolade, the greatest cheer to everyone is everybody in Fiji."
Fijian fans welcomed the team home in numbers. Photo: Fiji Government
