James Davies and Sam Cross had to settle for a silver lining as their Olympic rugby Sevens adventure came to an end.
The Welsh pair – part of the Great Britain squad in Rio – were beaten by a rampant Fiji, 43-7, in the final on Thursday night.
But they will return home as runners-up after a competition that also included sevens powerhouses such as New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.
Davies – known as Cubby and the younger brother of Wales centre Jonathan Davies – said afterwards he was now grateful he had missed out on selection for the Wales tour to New Zealand.
“I’m just so thankful I didn’t go on that tour now, but hopefully that call does one day come,” he said.
England captain Tom Mitchell said: “I had a few tears at the end.
“Everyone has worked so hard, and it has been an amazing journey. It is a nice little way to finish it with a silver medal.
“There were those who thought we wouldn’t do so well out here, and we knew we had to come here and scrap. We knew it was about working hard.
“They (Fiji) turned it up a notch, and we’ve seen them do that on the World Series in the last couple of years.
“They are an incredibly talented bunch of guys, and when they are on form, they are very difficult to stop.
“They got a few scores ahead, which meant we had to chase the game a little bit, then it got a bit loose and that is what they thrive on.
“It is the national sport in Fiji, and those guys will go home and be heroes. I am very happy for their whole group.”
Reflecting on the final and the tournament, Britain head coach Simon Amor added: ” They are an outstanding team. It is probably right that Fiji, the team that plays the game so beautifully, were rewarded with the gold and the first medal for their country.
“The way they played in that final was absolute dynamite.
“I am so proud of my boys. They gave so much, every single time, and unfortunately the last game was just one too many, but I have never seen a team play with such heart and fight.
“It has been amazing. We always knew we would have 10 weeks to make this work, and we had a lot of rugby in the build-up.
“It has been an interesting journey. We knew we had talent, and the team spirit was extraordinary.”
