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He’s already been gifted three acres of land and a Companion Order of Fiji – but now Ben Ryan, hailed as a national hero after guiding the Fiji sevens team to the country’s first Olympic medal, has been commemorated on limited-edition currency.
The Reserve Bank of Fiji has issued a new coin and banknote to mark the side’s historic gold medal in Rio last year, achieved by defeating Great Britain 43-7 in a bruising final.
“The reception was overwhelmingly positive,” Ryan told CNN. “Obviously, everyone’s very proud of the team; it gave us another chance to show off the gold medal and celebrate it.
“I imagine although it’s legal tender, a lot of people will just keep them. I’ve taken some back for friends and family [in the UK], so I’ve got quite a few.
Two new Fijian currencies have been issued to commemorate the Olympics
Reserve Bank of Fiji
“It’s not very often you get your face on a coin or on a note so I wanted to get hold of a few just so my family have them as mementos. A few of my little nieces kept texting me asking me to bring back a note for them each.”
Work on the 50-cent coin and seven-dollar banknote began in August 2016, shortly after the Olympics. The finished pieces were officially unveiled in a ceremony – which Ryan returned to Fiji to attend – on April 20.
Englishman Ryan, 45, stepped down as Fiji coach last year after Olympic success. On top of the gold in Rio, he also led the side to two World Rugby Sevens Series titles in his three-year tenure as coach.
He’s recently been serving as an HSBC ambassador for the World Sevens Series, with the aim of getting back into coaching – either in the seven or fifteen-aside formats – next season.
Ben Ryan spent a golden three years with Fiji's sevens team.
PATRICK HAMILTON/AFP/AFP/Getty Images/file
Ryan moved to the Pacific Islands with his interest in the game at its lowest ebb after being disillusioned by his job with the English RFU.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images AsiaPac/Getty Images
Fiji won two successive men's Sevens World Series titles, and backed that up to take Olympic gold at Rio 2016.
JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Ryan built up an amazing rapport with his team, but opted to walk away from the role after the Olympics when his contract expired.
PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
However, Ryan -- pictured with Ro Dakuwaqa in Rio -- remains closely linked with the Fiji players and is working to ensure they get a fair pay deal for playing on the global stage.
David Rogers/Getty Images South America/Getty Images
The Englishman (pictured celebrating after the Olympic final) closely follows the team's fortunes after parting ways.
Mark Kolbe/Getty Images South America/Getty Images
Fiji enjoyed strong support in Brazil during the Olympics.
David Rogers/Getty Images South America/Getty Images
But that was dwarfed by the celebrations that greeted both Ryan and his players on their return to Fiji after August's Games.
AFP/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
In the ensuing months, Ryan attended a number ceremonies for him and his players.
AFP/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Members of the public would line up at his home in Fiji to give him gifts and thank him for what he had achieved.
The impact of Ryan’s success with Fiji has been huge, and the currency is testament to the team’s widespread influence across the Pacific island nation.
“The February or March before the Olympics we had cyclone Winston,” explains Ryan. “The second-biggest cyclone, hurricane, or tornado to hit a landmass in the history of the world.
“That was a huge blow to the economy, to the people, for everything really, and so for this to happen – the Olympics – just brightened everyone’s day a little bit more.
“The economists do say that gold medals increase revenue to a country and certainly if you ask, for example, the hotels, they’ve said they’ve had a big upsurge in bookings since the Olympics.”
Now under the management of Welshman Gareth Baber, Fiji is second behind South Africa in the World Series standings with two tournaments remaining.
To say the country is rugby-mad would be an understatement.
“It is the one sport – and sevens rather than 15s – that the nation is absolutely in love with, and the whole country just stops when there’s a tournament,” says Ryan.
“It goes into mourning if the side loses a game, or if they don’t win a game by a certain amount of points.
“The players all come from the villages. They have held jobs that have been similar to the normal working class population of Fiji. They’d be hotel porters, farmers, or sell vegetables on the side of fields, or fish, so they relate to them very much to being the people’s team.”