When Ben Ryan became coach of the Fiji Rugby 7s team in 2013, the Fijian Rugby Union was bankrupt and none of its players were contracted or in training. The squad was so demotivated and unfit that, at his first training session with them, Ben won the fitness test! From this inauspicious and unpromising start, Ben led them to win the World Rugby 7s Series twice and gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics – Fiji’s first Olympic medal – thereby establishing himself as one of the leading coaches of his generation.
In the summer of 2022, Ben was appointed as Director of Elite Performance at Brentford Football Club, and alongside that role continues to be highly in demand as a keynote speaker, as he shares the stories, insights and lessons from his time coaching the England and Fiji 7s teams, culminating with Olympic glory.