Japan failed to cap its astonishing run at the Rio Olympic rugby sevens tournament with a medal after losing to Fiji in the semifinals and South Africa in the bronze-medal match on Thursday.
Japan stunned the world with a 14-12 win over New Zealand in its opening game as rugby returned to the Olympics for the first time in 92 years, before knocking out France in the quarterfinals to head into the final day still in the hunt for the gold medal.
But a 20-5 loss to Fiji — which went on to beat Britain 43-7 in the final — sent Japan into the third-place playoff, where a 54-14 defeat to South Africa denied head coach Tomohiro Segawa’s side a medal in front of a lively crowd at Deodoro Stadium.