Jesse's Story
Having grown up playing rugby union and rugby league, Jesse Parahi made his sevens debut in 2010 and would go on to win Commonwealth Games bronze in 2014. After a short stint with NRL side Wests Tigers in early 2016, Parahi returned to the sevens program and secured his spot in the final twelve for the Rio 2016 Games.
Despite Parahi’s try, the Australian team got off to a slow start in Rio after opening the tournament with a 31-14 point loss to France. He scored again in the side’s second match as Australia bounced back with a 26-12 victory over Spain before Parahi got his third try of the tournament to help keep his team’s medal hopes alive with a 12-5 win over South Africa. They again faced the South African side in the quarter-finals and it was the BlitzBokke who reversed the result to claim a 22-5 win over the Aussies and move through to the final four. Losses to Argentina and France followed for Australia who finished the tournament in eighth.
