Kolinisau Eyes Additional Olympic Gold For Fiji Sevens

Coach Kolinisau of Fiji's sevens wants Los Angeles 2028

Osea Kolinisau is helping Fiji's rugby sevens team reach great heights /

By Mohamed Bahaa

Osea Kolinisau, the coach of Fiji's rugby sevens, is eager to guide his squad to Los Angeles for the Olympic Games in 2028 Having taken over just four months before the Paris Olympics, Kolinisau guided Fiji to a silver medal, adding to their past golds from Rio and Tokyo. French, the host country, claimed the gold from Stade de France.

Kolinisau will visit the temporary Trustees of the Fiji Rugby Union this week to show his post-Paris analysis. Whether he gets the chance to lead the team to the next Olympics, he anticipates learning next week.

"My heart has always been for Fiji and I love the possibility to build that team for the next four years," Kolinisau said to the Fiji Sun. Kolinisau is driven about carrying on his job as captain of Fiji's gold-medal squad at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

"Although the team currently boasts many young players, I also have to consider family. Should it be OK for the family, I would be delighted to stay for four years. I will find out their preferred choice. Though it is up to them, I wish to stay. Right now, the core of the team makes me proud. Many young people ranging in age from 24 to 26. We are aware of the norm we should be following. If given the chance, we have a base from which to build."

Chairman of the Fiji Rugby Union interim Trustees Peter Mazey said he respected Kolinisau's achievements. Look, I appreciate what he has done. He arrived with just four months, and we progressed from failing out of 22 events to Olympic silver. That is an amazing feat," Mazey remarked.

Originally asking to last just until September, Kolinisau's contract is almost expired. "He brought some fresh blood and kept some old friends; his present contract just covers September. He is eager to keep on when I spoke with him. Mazey said, the board will most surely collaborate with him on that.

Kolinisau's possible long term as head coach will allow Fiji to build on the solid basis he has created by using a youthful and talented team to achieve unprecedented performance in international rugby sevens. Whether Kolinisau will keep travelling with the team towards Los Angeles 2028 will depend critically on the following few days.