"The impact Osea Kolinisau had on the game of sevens in the last two seasons outclassed any performance by Seabelo Senatla [of South Africa] and they are disappointed Kolinisau was not awarded the Sevens Player of the Year"
After missing out on all three awards, the Fiji Rugby public was disappointed as well as other fans around the world who have expressed their thoughts on social media.
The FRU says while it respects the achievement of the All Blacks during the year, they strongly believe that the impact of the Fiji 7s team winning back to back World Sevens Series titles and more importantly winning the Gold Medal at the Rio Olympic Games had a far greater impact to the game of rugby globally.
In a statement, the Fiji Rugby Union says the Fiji Sevens team with the limited resources available to them have outperformed any other rugby team in 2016.
It says the Rugby World expects the All Blacks to do well every time because they have all resources available to them.
The Fiji Rugby Union also says the impact Osea Kolinisau had on the game of sevens in the last two seasons outclassed any performance by Seabelo Senatla and they are disappointed Kolinisau was not awarded the Sevens Player of the Year.
The Coach of the Year Award was given to All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, Team of the Year was given to the All Blacks while South African speedster Seabelo Senatla is the World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year outshining Kolinisau and Virimi Vakatawa. Source: Fijivillage News