- The Australians were hoping to win their first Olympic medal
- He had been eliminated in the quarter-finals twice in a row before Paris.
A try after the siren denied Australia’s men’s rugby sevens their first Olympic medal as they were beaten 26-19 in the bronze medal match in Paris by South Africa after being reduced to a man by a split-second decision.
It all went wrong for Australia, who ran out of possession in the first half before being given a harsh penalty for a foul and captain Nick Malouf being red-carded by the referee for a high challenge early in the second half.
Malouf was forced off the field for a high kick during a Blitzboks try, with his shoulder striking his opponent in the jaw – and the split-second incident cost the team dearly.
They were trailing 19-7 with two minutes remaining, but incredibly equalised with tries from Corey Toole and Henry Patterson.
Toole got his team back into the game with a stunning long-range try, capitalising on a great chase-down kick.
Australia’s Mark Nawaqanitawase made a stunning breakaway to set up another try.
However, South Africa won the crucial restart and Shaun Williams raced down the left flank to break Australian hearts by scoring in the final play of the match.
Australia’s Hayden Sergeant is tackled during the heartbreaking defeat to South Africa, in which captain Nick Malouf was sent off the field for a high shot.
The moment that changed the match: Captain Malouf is sent off the pitch
The Australian team’s faces are dejected after being denied a bronze medal in a disastrous match.
It was still the team’s best Olympic performance after two consecutive quarterfinal exits.
The Australians were earlier crushed 31-7 by Fiji in their semi-final, with their opponents scoring all their points without reply.
Australia led 7-0 against the two-time defending champions in the shadow of half-time at the Stade de France but then barely kept possession in a heavy defeat.
A 95-metre half-time try levelled the scores before Fiji repeated the four restarts to add three more tries and a penalty goal.
Australian star James Turner was unable to make this tackle against the Blitzboks’ Tristan Leyds
Ben Dowling scored for Australia, trudging forward and calmly planting the ball to defy the obviously slippery conditions.
Dietrich Roache then slotted home a conversion from the touchline, but it was all downhill after that for coach John Manenti’s side.
It was an abrupt halt to a campaign that had been running well, and Australia was forced to reset quickly with a first Olympic medal still up for grabs in the bronze play-off later on Saturday.
Fiji were undefeated in Olympic competitions until they were edged out by France in the final, with the hosts scoring late on to record a 28-7 victory, leaving the team ecstatic as they took gold.
