Dubai: Dubai features prominently in former England and Fiji sevens coach Ben Ryan’s autobiography ‘Sevens Heaven’, which was released on May 31.
The 46-year-old Englishman led England to two consecutive Dubai titles in 2010 and 2011, before winning two with Fiji in 2013 and 2015 on their way to back-to-back World Series titles and a historic first Olympic gold medal at Rio 2016.
His most meaningful Dubai win was perhaps his first with Fiji in only his second event in charge of the islanders however, when he beat his old side England 26-21 to top the group and then thrashed rival Gordon Tietjens’ New Zealand 44-0 in the semi-final, before beating South Africa 29-17 in the final. This victory arguably set the tone for what he went on to achieve.
“Fiji had never won the Dubai Sevens in more than 25 years of trying, but we were too good this time for England, by a solitary try at least, and then against reigning world champions New Zealand in the semi-final, all that beautiful chaos suddenly came together in 14 rampaging minutes,” read excerpts.
“In the dressing room beforehand, I hadn’t been sure. The players were singing and dancing, something none of my England players ever did until the Christmas party.
“They were joking around with each other, relaxed, not thinking about our opponents at all. I had also given them Red Bull for the first time, which had felt a bit like giving a can of it to your mother.
“The outcome could not be entirely predicted, but it would certainly be interesting.
“We absolutely blitzed them. Everything we touched came off — tries from everywhere, rugby that had you whooping, the most successful team in World Series history so stunned that they were shouting at each other on the pitch, which was bad enough among the seven of them but was even worse when they accidentally put eight on the pitch instead.
“We won 44-0. New Zealand’s heaviest-ever defeat. Eight tries to nil, Osea and Semi on the board and brilliant. Kiwi coach Sir Gordon Tietjens was so furious afterwards that he walked away without shaking my hand.
“Into the final, South Africa dispatched 29-17, two of their tries coming with the match long since gone. By that stage, it almost didn’t matter.
“The issue I had now was keeping expectations in check — this is not going to be the norm, I told celebrating players and giddy journalists. Don’t expect sunshine all the time, you’re going to get showers as well. But you can see what happens with a little preparation: if we can instil some of the stuff that’s missing, just imagine what we might be able to do.”
Ryan’s book fascinatingly details the Londoner’s falling out with England, his rift with Tietjens and subsequent move to Fiji, where he would go on to win Olympic gold, appear on Fijian banknotes and be awarded Fiji’s highest honour, after being bestowed with land and a Fijian tribal name in an attempt to make him stay. He currently works as a consultant for France and is thought to be considering a move into coaching a 15s side.
