Australia confirm Olympic berth
The remaining two berths in the 12-team tournament at Rio 2016 will be filled by the winners of the Africa Sevens and a special Olympic qualifier. Losing finalists Tonga and Samoa, who beat Papua New Guinea in the play-off for third in the Oceania tournament, will both be invited to the final qualifier.
Led by interim coach Tim Walsh, Australia produced an emphatic display beating American Samoa 52-0 in the quarter-finals, before dismissing Papua New Guinea 36-0 and then scoring 10 tries against Tonga. They had expected to meet Samoa in the final but Tonga pulled off the upset of the weekend when they beat their Pacific island neighbours 41-5 in the semi-finals.
Pama Fou was in a fearsome mood as he registered the opening two scores of the game to ease any nerves in the Australian camp, before Jesse Parahi added a third after eight minutes. Captain Ed Jenkins then gave Australia a virtually unassailable 31-point lead at the break as he crossed over twice in a minute.
Cameron Clark and Henry Hutchison added further tries after the interval before Allan Fa'alava'au put the icing on the cake to complete a convincing win.
"We're very pleased. The boys put in a ruthless performance in that last game and it was just desserts for the effort they have put in, not only in the last three months with me, but for the last three years too.
"This is a great way to start a new chapter, a new stage in what will be a massive year with the Olympics at the end of it. It's a weight off everyone's shoulders [qualifying for Rio], if you look at it in a positive way, then these players will be battle-hardened and more able to handle those pressure situations," Tim Walsh said.
Jenkins expressed his delight at qualifying for the Olympic Games.
"We're all delighted that we've qualified for the Olympics. It's a testament to the boys' character that we performed as well as we did. We delivered when it mattered most and I'm very proud. Full credit goes to Tim [Walsh] who agreed to coach us in the wake of Geraint John's departure. We're all proud of what we've done in what was a tough qualifier," Jenkins said.
Regional powerhouses New Zealand and Fiji, who have already confirmed their places at the Olympics, did not take part in the Oceania tournament.
Agence France-Presse
