French Men Claim Maiden Olympic Gold At Rugby Sevens Paris 2024

The host nation, buoyed by a vocal and passionate crowd at Stade De France in Paris, claimed their first-ever Olympic medal at Rugby Sevens at Paris 2024, as they broke Fijian hearts and inflicted a first-ever Olympic defeat on the neutrals favourites. South Africa exceeded expectations considering the season they have had and beat Australia to earn bronze.

Feature Photo – France players celebrate the gold medal win over Fiji on day three of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France on 27 July, 2024 in Paris. Photo credit: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby

The French 28-7 win over Fiji was played out in front of 69,000 fans at Stade de France and the media talisman, as USA Head Coach Mike Friday aptly named him, Antoine Dupont, did shine on the final stage when it mattered most as he scored two tries and set up a third, but it was a squad effort which saw the team collect gold at home.

Antoine Dupont said after the win (the team performed a special dance for the crowd after beating Fiji) “It’s such a great honour to win this title and I have such great emotions. It’s hard to describe. It is such a great thing to achieve with these boys. It’s really top of the list. I just want to share this with my teammates. We worked so hard for so long to do this. This is just the cherry on the cake.”

France’s Antoine Dupont celebrates the gold medal on day three of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France on 27 July, 2024 in Paris. Photo credit: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby

Aaron Grandidier Nkanang said of the team dance, “Dancing has been quite an active part of my training for the last few years and we decided to bring out our dance routine at the end there. I guess it worked because here we are with the gold. This medal is staying on my neck for as long as possible. I’m going to sleep with it, I’m going to go out with it, I’m going to travel with it, I’m going on holiday with it. It is staying glued to my neck. Look at it.”

Losing captain, Fiji legend Jerry Tuwai added: “We came for the gold but we have to settle for the silver. It was not what we wanted but France was too good for us today. We started really well but a lot of things happened that didn’t go our way. It is unfortunate that we lost the final but it has been a wonderful journey, since winning in Rio, Tokyo was a blessing and here in Paris too.”

Tuwai had two golds and a silver from the three Olympic Games in what might have been his last game. “I wanted to end my career with another gold but not everything goes to plan. I think it feels like the end for me at this moment. I don’t see myself playing again and I think I’ll go in to coaching in the future.”

South Africa probably played their game of the tournament in the quarterfinals in kicking out rivals NZ in a defensive masterclass led by veterans Rosko Specman and captain Selvyn Davids but they couldn’t overcome the French in the semifinal. The Blitzboks managed to overcome Australia 26-19 in another thrilling bronze match. They qualified for Paris 2024 last via the Repechage in Monaco and were the bottom-seeded team to come through from the pool stages.

South Africa’s Ryan Oosthuizen commented: “Honestly, I don’t have words. A lot of people didn’t give us a chance. We only qualified for the Games by repêchage, and if someone had said then, ‘You will be standing on the podium at the end’, I never would have believed them. It’s really awesome, a credit to the boys. I think we really fought for one another. We had an argument after day one about our standards. But we came together and said, ‘We have to fight for South Africa’. We are defiant people. And we did it. I am so glad.”

New Zealand, Argentina, Kenya and Uruguay all ended their Olympic campaigns with wins in their respective play-offs. Uruguay claimed the 11th spot with a 21-10 win over Japan, Kenya edged ninth place with a 10-5 victory over Samoa, Argentina clinched seventh as they cruised to a 19-0 win over the USA, and New Zealand beat Ireland 17-7 in the fifth place play-off. USA’s Perry Baker is now the leading men’s try scorer in Olympic history with ten tries.

The results meant that Japan ended up 12th and didn’t secure a win in Paris, which was disappointing.

The medal winners on day three of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France on 27 July, 2024 in Paris. Photo credit: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby

Rugby Sevens Takes The Limelight On The World Stage

World Rugby said that the Rugby Sevens has “ignited the Olympic Games Paris 2024 with a record-breaking 550,000 fans creating an incredible atmosphere across six days of competition.”

World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont Beaumont added, “I was honoured to be joined by the Presidents of France, Fiji and the IOC among other dignitaries to witness this majestic moment for rugby sevens. Congratulations to France on their incredible gold medal performance, which will has ignited these Olympic Games for the host nation, and well done to all the teams on playing their part in a spectacular sevens tournament.”

France fans cheer for the team on day three of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France on 27 July, 2024 in Paris. Photo credit: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby

The women’s teams start their pool games on Sunday for their three-day competition – pool phase matches are followed by quarter-finals on Monday evening and finals day on Tuesday 30 July.

Sir Bill Beaumont Beaumont added, “The world’s best women take centre stage tomorrow in front of what promises to be a world record crowd for a women’s rugby event ever. Another milestone. We can’t wait.”

Japan and China are the Asian representatives from the Women’s draw.

Rugby Sevens – Olympic Games Paris 2024

• Olympic Games Paris 2024 Rugby Sevens Schedule & Team News.
• Two Asian Match Officials Selected For Olympic Games Paris 2024 Rugby Sevens.
• Rugby Sevens Experts Make Their Medal Predictions For Paris 2024 Olympics.
• Alicia Lucas – 2024 Olympics Will Take Sevens Rugby To Even Greater Heights.