Sir Gordon Tietjens summed it up best.
"We just weren't good enough."
He's right. Four games. One win. Three Losses. The All Blacks Sevens team failed miserably in Rio. So why weren't we good enough? How did we get this so wrong?
When I say "we", I'm not talking about the players. I'm talking about New Zealand Rugby, and fans and critics of Rugby in New Zealand. We took our eye off the ball. We focused on the wrong issues.
We've been asking why our "best players" weren't available for the Olympics, and why New Zealand Rugby applied the All Blacks brand to the Sevens team.
Stop right there.
The problem is not with adding the All Blacks brand to the Sevens team. It's failing to back that up by applying All Blacks standards and resource to the Sevens setup.
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New Zealand Rugby needs to go all in. If you're going to do it, do it properly.
If we're serious about this, a centralised Sevens programme NEEDS to happen.
Most other nations understand this. Tietjens bemoaned a lack of player depth after defeat in Rio.
"We have lots of rugby players, but not a huge amount of depth in Sevens players. All of my players aspire to be All Blacks, they aspire to be Super Rugby players," he said.
When asked if enough resources were put into Sevens, Tietjens paused, bowed his head, before delivering the diplomatic answer. It was a telling moment.
Not every rugby player can be an All Black. If you want Sevens success, then it needs to be presented as a serious career path. Who knows how difficult that'll be after Rio? If New Zealand Rugby wants to fix it, it needs to provide an incentive to players – money, not a medal - if they're to convince players that Sevens rugby is a full-time career they should consider.
That's how you develop specialists.
Sir Gordon Tietjens (Getty Images)
Instead, for the last 12-18 months we've debated whether Tietjens is right to demand that players commit to his programme. I've heard experts suggest he should change his attitude and allow the stars to play Super Rugby. You're missing the point.
Name me one other traditional rugby nation at the Olympics that thought it was a great idea to stack their team with 15s stars?
Please. Let's stop with this idea that New Zealand should call on Beauden Barrett, Ardie Savea and Ben Smith to win Sevens gold. This notion stems from seeing players like Jonah Lomu, Christian Cullen, Mils Muliaina and Cory Jane arrive on the scene and overpower amateur opponents.
The game has moved on. Sevens is professional. It requires a targeted approach.
Sevens can no longer be considered an abbreviated form of rugby. It's a different sport, requiring different skills, different tactics, different physical requirements. In the same way Lionel Messi doesn't play futsal, we can't expect 15s stars to drop in and clean up at an Olympics.
An attitude adjustment is required. Right now, New Zealand Rugby and fans of the game don't care enough about Sevens. Tietjens' team is not as important as Steve Hansen's team. The fact is, the Olympics has showcased Sevens to a new audience. The sport will grow. Other teams will continue to get better.
New Zealand Sevens is at a crossroads. If we change now, we can catch up. If we don't, we'll be left behind.
We – critics, fans, administrators – need to ask whether we want that change. Do we care enough to change?
Because that's what needs to happen if we're serious about Sevens success.
Andrew Gourdie / Newshub
