Lomano Lemeki doesn’t care if he’s hated back home.
Who would have predicted, heading into Rio 2016, that New Zealand and Australia would not make the last four while Japan and Team GB were one game away from the gold medal match.
That is exactly as the Rugby Sevens has turned out. The Aussies beat the Kiwis in the women’s competition but their male counterparts have been left to lick their wounds.
One of the big reasons New Zealand failed so spectacularly was their opening loss to a Japan team that have taken the tournament by storm.
That means Lemeki, a native of Auckland, is the only remaining Kiwi in with a medal shout at Rio 2016. The 27-year-old told Rugby Heaven that he couldn’t be happier:
“To knock out New Zealand along the way feels pretty good, being a Kiwi.
“I’m probably one of the most hated ones at the moment. Feels good.”
Lemeki, who plays club rugby for Honda Heat, joked it is a good thing that rugby is catching up on soccer in Japan as their national team are pretty useless.
Japan take on Fiji later this evening and a victory would ensure a silver medal at worst. It certainly helped Lemeki settle in with fellow Team Japan athletes. “Now they know who we are and talk to us,” he remarked.
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