Bristol’s Tom Mitchell takes silver in Olympic rugby sevens

Against all the odds, Bristol grad Tom Mitchell has brought home a silver medal for Team GB in the rugby seven’s tournament.

It was originally thought that it would be a push for the team to make the quarter-finals, but Mitchell’s squad managed to beat out rugby powerhouse South Africa to make it to the final medal match.

They were pipped to the gold by Fiji, who took their first ever Olympic medal leading by 43-7. It was the inaugural appearance for rugby sevens at the Olympics.

Mitchell, who is the captain of the Team GB squad, 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.”