NZ Women Win Back-To-Back Olympic Rugby Sevens Gold At Paris 2024 – Finals Day Filled With Drama
rugbyasia247
Posted On July 31, 2024
New Zealand held on to beat a brave Canadian team to claim back-to-back women’s rugby sevens Olympic gold in Paris 2024 after the USA had shocked Australia to claim bronze to win their first Olympic sevens medal. It was a thrilling day of finals rugby which also saw Japan claim 9th and China 6th – both surpassing previous highs at the Olympics.
World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said, “Congratulations to New Zealand, Canada and the USA on their medal success and to all the teams who have contributed to making this a very special and outstandingly successful Olympic rugby sevens. Merci Paris. Merci France! We can’t wait for LA 2028!”
Rugby 7s Gold At Paris 2024
Canada had already beaten hosts France in the quarterfinal and Australia in the semifinal but couldn’t complete their own fairytale when New Zealand held on to beat them 19-12 at Stade De France in a hard-fought final.
It was also a fitting end to the careers of some of the best players to have played the game, notably, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, who is a far better fit for GOAT of Rugby Sevens than a certain Frenchman. She and Tyla King retired from Sevens following the Paris 2024 with gold medals in their collection.
Portia Woodman-Wickliffe said: “I’m so grateful for the opportunities that I have taken. The people who I have around me have been so special – my wife, my daughter, my mum and dad. I’m just so grateful. And we got to do it in front of family and friends. In Tokyo we got the job done but no one was celebrating with us. So this time round we have a 70,000 crowd and family and friends.”
The rugby legend who has won nearly everything available in 7s and XVs added, “To finish like that was amazing. My dream was to represent New Zealand. Then I just had to take my opportunities. But this ranks No.1 in my highlights reel. In this stadium, alongside my mates – amazing.”
Tyla King also said, “In Tokyo (Olympic Games in 2021) we didn’t reach our full potential, we scraped through some games. But here we absolutely put on a show from day one to the very end. We did it for the crowd that was here, for the families back home, for the whole country. I’m so proud to have been part of this team for the last 13 years. It took a whole village to get us to this moment.”
Canada’s Caroline Crossley said of what it meant to claim silver, “We gave all we had. It was a close one. New Zealand are a great side, but we were really proud of the performance we put on, especially after our pool game against them on the first day. I’m hoping that this gives more excitement to rugby sevens because it’s such a great sport and we have such talented players in Canada.” The current Canadian coach leaves his role following the Olympics.
Photo credit: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby
The USA claimed their first rugby sevens Olympic medal, by beating Australia 14-12 to claim bronze with a match-winning and near full length of the field try in the dying seconds to break Australian hearts and leave them without a medal for the second consecutive Olympics in rugby.
For the USA, Emilie Bydwell became the first female head coach to win a medal and the hype post-match is that this could be the new dawn of USA rugby, a title we have heard thrown around before.
USA’s Ilona Maher said: “It hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m so tired but I’m so excited. I don’t think it will sink in until we get up with those medals. We worked really hard. We wanted this medal, not for ourselves but for our families. It was such a hard few years, but we did it.”
On what the win and medal could mean for rugby sevens in the United States, she added, “I hope it means we get more games in stadiums like this, that we get more money and funding for the women’s game. We deserve it. We need more girls in the US trying rugby and seeing what it can do for them.”
Photo credit: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby
Olympic Women’s Rugby Sevens Paris 2024 – Final Standings
Elsewhere, France, Great Britain, Japan and South Africa all concluded their respective Paris 2024 campaigns on a winning note, with China also doing wonderfully well to end up 6th – French veteran Chloe Pelle scored on her final appearance for the host nation as they finished fifth with a 21-7 win over China.
Great Britain beat Olympic debutants Ireland 28-12 in the seventh-place play-off, while Japan made it three wins in a row to claim ninth place with a dominant 38-7 victory over Brazil.
South Africa beat Fiji 21-15 to win their first-ever Olympic match and claim 11th place, with the Fijians dropping from 3rd in Tokyo to last.
Rugby 7s – Olympic Games Paris 2024
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