Australia have taken out the 2015 Oceania Sevens tournament and gained automatic qualification for Rugby Sevens at the 2016 Rio Olympics after a 50-0 win over Tonga in the tournament final.
The real turning point in the tournament however was Tonga’s semi-final victory over Samoa, as Samoa were widely expected to win their way through to the final and give Australia a serious run for their money.
Both Tonga and Samoa had dominated their respective pools on Saturday before the finals began on Sunday.
Australia thumped American Samoa in their quarter-final 52-0 before earning a place in the final with a semi-final win over Papua New Guinea who they defeated 36-0.
Samoa and Tonga both dominated their quarter-final appearances with one-sided wins over Nauru and Solomon Islands respectively.
However it was in their semi-final that the plot took a twist as Tonga came out firing and ultimately thumped four-time champions Samoa with a margin of 41-5.
Australia then came up against Tonga for the second time in two days when they played them in the final, having defeated them comprehensively in the pools stage, 49-0.
Unfortunately for Tonga any confidence they accrued from their upset win over Samoa was swiftly destroyed.
Australia were up 30-0 at half time, and led 50-0 when the game ended, a powerful display. Ultimately, the side conceded just seven points in six matches at the tournament.
It’s the third time Australia has won the Oceania Sevens tournament, along with victories in 2010 and 2012.
It means that the Australian side automatically qualifies for the Rugby Sevens event at the upcoming Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
They join Argentina, United States, France and Japan as some of the early qualifiers for the event.
Meanwhile, Tonga and Samoa will go on to the Final Olympic Qualification Tournament, where they still have a chance to earn their spot at Rio.
Other nations they’ll face in that tournament include Uruguay, Chile, Canada, Mexico, Spain, Russia, Germany, Ireland, Hong Kong, South Korea and Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, the Australian team no longer needs to be concerned with qualification, and can begin training in earnest for 2016.
The Australian women’s side also successfully qualified for the Olympics at the tournament.
THAT'S IT! We're off to Rio! pic.twitter.com/YKk51Ij6Ix
— Aussie 7s (@Aussie7s) November 15, 2015
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