Ben Ryan in talks for a movie on Fiji sevens Olympic journey: Five actors who could play part of history-making English coach
- The 47-year-old can only say that plans for a film are in the pipeline but it doesn’t stop us from suggesting who could take on the role
Former Fiji rugby sevens coach Ben Ryan is in talks with a producer to make a movie, most likely about Fiji’s incredible journey to the Olympic gold in Rio in 2016.
The 47-year-old told his amazing story in Sevens Heaven: The Beautiful Chaos of Fiji’s Olympic Dream, which was released in April last year and which many have described as one of the best rugby book’s ever written.
It is not known if the movie, which is only in the early stages of discussion, will be based on his book and Ryan is contractually obliged to reveal nothing except that plans for the movie are in pipeline.
Still, when it comes to Fiji’s Olympic story, Hollywood can fill its boots with drama, comedy and tears.
From surviving for six months on the islands without pay and taking on a culture in which black magic was a norm, to the iconic scene of him sitting atop one of the famous sand dunes of Sigatoka as the Fijians players ran up its steep slopes, Ryan’s story is gripping from the start.
And then there was the deadly storm that devastated the country before the Hong Kong Sevens and which the players used as inspiration on their way to the Olympic gold medal.