James's Story
Having made his sevens debut in 2010, James Stannard became Australia’s all-time leading World Series scorer in early 2016. Switching between the sevens and fifteen man games, Stannard has won silver and bronze Commonwealth Games medals and played in both Super Rugby and Japan. He finished the 2015/16 World Series with eight tries and 89 conversions as he confirmed his spot on the Australian team for Rio.
The Aussies got off to a slow start in Rio after opening the tournament with a 31-14 point loss to France. The side bounced back with a 26-12 victory over Spain before they kept their medal hopes alive with a 12-5 win over South Africa in their final group match. 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.
