DUBAI // Ben Ryan, who has arrived in Dubai as Fiji coach for the first time, said he derived no satisfaction from beating England on Friday night – and reckons he never will.
The Londoner, 42, was England coach when they won here in 2010 and 2011, but resigned from the role in the summer and was soon hired by Fiji.
His response to his side’s pool win over the country of his birth in the final men’s match on Pitch 1 on Friday night starkly contrasted that of his players.
While the Fijian replacements leapt from the bench, celebrating a 26-21 win that was far closer than it should have been, Ryan appeared entirely impassive.
“I don’t take any pleasure out of beating England,” said Ryan, who also betrayed signs of disappointment at the way Fiji leaked two late tries in a game they had otherwise controlled.
“I probably will be reserved every time we play them, but for us, it was important to get through in the group, irrespective of who we are playing.”
Fiji’s win gave them a quarter-final against Scotland, while England are faced with a battle of Britain against Wales in the last eight.
Simon Amor, England’s coach, refuted the idea that Ryan had brought insider knowledge to bear against a side he was in charge of until recently.
Ryan had been effusive about Amor, saying he expects him to be in his new role for years to come, while his counterpart was equally full of praise for the Fijians.
“We played quite poorly for a large part of that game and were our own worst enemies, but that is not to take anything away from Fiji,” Amor said.
“They were amazing with ball in hand. They’re an excellent side and if you give them time and space with ball in hand, they are wonderful, wonderful attackers.”
South Africa’s players will also be up against their former master when they face Kenya, now coached by Paul Treu, this morning.
In the other quarter-final, Argentina face the apparently impossible task of toppling the world champions New Zealand.
The All Blacks sevens side were irresistible again yesterday, capping off their pool with a 40-0 thrashing of the Kenyans.
As a reminder of just how dominant the New Zealanders are at present, a raft of the senior All Blacks were present to watch their sevens colleagues in action at The Sevens.
“We are under a lot of pressure,” said Sir Gordon Tietjens, the New Zealand coach.
“Having won the World Cup and the world series, people go into the games with nothing to lose and so the pressure is on you to perform. We treat every game in this tournament as though it is a final anyway and the guys are stepping up. I hope that continues [today].”
Australia women rally past New Zealand
The Australian women’s sevens side achieved what no other international rugby team has managed for so long: beat New Zealand.
Australia won the women’s IRB tournament at The Sevens on Friday night by overturning a 20-point deficit to win the final 35-27.
“I have faith in the girls and they have faith in themselves,” said Tim Walsh, the Australia coach.
pradley@thenational.ae
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