Priceless Bob Hawke line, legendary win inspire Aussie men's rugby sevens team to defeat of USA
Updated . First published at
PARIS: A priceless line from Bob Hawke and Australia's legendary 1983 America's Cup win inspired the Australian men's rugby sevens team to victory over the United States in Paris on Friday morning (AEST).
After the team thumped the Americans 18-0 to advance to the semi-finals at the Olympic Games — a result that sets up a duel with reigning Olympic champions Fiji — coach John Manenti was asked in the bowels of the Stade de France if Australia's fierce rivalry with the US in the pool flowed onto the rugby field.
That prompted Manenti to spill on a pre-game golden nugget of his, which he used to spark his troops at the athletes' village before they piled onto a bus and made the trip to the knockout clash.
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"One of our big themes for the year was America's Cup," Manenti explained.
"When we were in Perth we had Johnny Bertrand speak to us, who was the skipper of the America's Cup [team] when Australia beat them [the US] for the first time.
A priceless Bob Hawke line inspired Australia's men's rugby sevens team to victory in Paris. Supplied
"Bob Hawke was the Prime Minister, and one of the slides I showed the boys tonight was a quote from Bob Hawke, which was, 'Go and smash the bastards', which he said to the Australian crew before the race.
"It was just a reminder that Australia and America have got some history."
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According to Bertrand, the exact words used by Hawke were: "Destroy the bastards".
"He asked me, 'What are you going to do?', and I said, 'Well Bob, we'll give it our best shot'," Bertrand told Wide World of Sports in 2022.
"He replied, 'Bullshit, destroy the bastards'.
"I thought that was fantastic. Talk about a man seizing the moment."
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Manenti's team seized the moment at the 80,000-seat Stade de France, where thousands of French spectators were going wild in celebration of their team's 26-14 win against Argentina earlier in the night.
In the semi-finals on Saturday night (AEST), France will meet South Africa before Australia faces Fiji, the South Pacific nation vying to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals in men's rugby sevens.
James Turner, Corey Toole and Maurice Longbottom scored tries for Australia in the quarter-final win.
"I work them pretty hard and I'm a pretty grumpy sort of guy, but there's no point playing in fear here," Manenti said.
"I'm telling them to be brave, fire your shots. If we lose we're going to lose being brave, we're going to lose having a crack."
