Fiji's sevens success has provided a boost to other Pacific countries competing in the Rio Olympics.
The World Series champions thrashed Great Britain 43-7 in the final on Friday, winning the first-ever gold medal for a Pacific nation and the first of any colour for Fiji.
The Chef de Mission for the Cook Islands, Robert Graham, said Fiji's success has boosted the morale of all Oceania nations in Rio.
"When they won you could see it. We were all there - it was Palau, Marshall Islands, Guam. They don't play rugby like us further down south but they were there supporting Fiji, supporting Oceania. When Fiji won that gold medal I think you could see it on their faces is that the medal was won for Oceania," he said.
"When the national anthem was being played, when they were presented their gold medals, paying their respects to Her Royal Highness Princess Anne on both knees, for me I felt proud...to be a representative from the Pacific, from Oceania winning a gold medal here at the Olympic Games and I think all the other Oceania countries felt the same way."
The Fiji team is still in Rio enjoying some of the other sports on offer at the Olympics.
They arrive home on Sunday, with Monday declared a public holiday in Fiji.
Gold medalists Fiji celebrate during the men’s rugby sevens medal ceremony during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Deodoro Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 11, 2016. Photo: AFP/Pascal Guyot
