France takes Fiji off the top spot, claim Rugby sevens Olympic gold
France took home the gold medal in rugby sevens at the raucous Stade de France on Saturday and ended Fiji’s dominance in it’s Olympic event.
Jul 27, 2024 06:36 PM
Jul 27, 2024, 02:36 PM ET
SAINT-DENIS France -Seven minutes of a clinic that will forever define his legacy, Antoine Dupont scored two scores and scored another to earn a highly sought-after gold medal to France and put an end to two-time world champion Fiji’s Olympic dominance in the sport of rugby sevens.
One of the best player in rugby, Dupont was saved for the second half of Saturday’s game using a tactic which worked flawlessly as he created momentum with his first touch with the ball. He then steered France to a stunning victory of 28-7.
The dynamic player has opted out of in the Six Nations tournament and switched his focus away to the 15s format to the rugby sevens in the month of March to pursue the chance of a lifetime to win the Olympic gold medal on the home turf of his country.
He is able to be back in his place in the French VIII in the form of the Olympic winner, while at a minimum partially erasing the pain caused by this Rugby World Cup disappointment on home turf this year.
“Just an enormous prize for us, in the field of football, and for the entire nation,” Dupont said. “We believed that we represented rugby, but we also represent the French sport too.
“We are very happy to have started the Olympics in this way.”
The French team didn’t get a place at their previous Olympics in Tokyo however they can proudly claim the first gold medal of France’s history at the Paris Games. With Dupont in the team the French this year won their first championship in the world sevens series circuit in more than two decades. They also secured an impressive win in the series ‘ final in addition.
Fiji hadn’t lost one sevens rugby game during the Olympics in 17 years, and took a winning streak of 17 games into the finals, and was awash for the biggest sporting event of all time following an unusually inconsistent performance on the world series circuit.
“I realize that the bar has been very high for the teams of 2016 and 2020 however it’s not a easy feat to win an Olympic silver medal in the Olympics,” Fiji coach Osea Kolinisau told. “We were determined to continue the tradition … it was a shame that we did not succeed.”
A game that took place between Dupont with Jerry Tuwai, the two-time Olympic gold medalist as well as the rugby Sevens champion of the decade, proved crucial.
The champions from the previous season scored first, and it was 7-7 at the time Dupont was on the field after halftime.
He took off almost immediately along the left sideline, in a long-range run into Fiji’s third quarter, and he thwarted Tuwai’s tackle attempt when he threw the ball towards Aaron Grandidier Nkanang to give France the lead of 14-7.
His two late attempts are just the icing on the cake for the raucous crowd of 69,000.
The French’s victory caught the interest of the nation hosting where rugby has always been an object of pride, but also some painThe French haven’t had a chance to win in the Rugby World Cup in the 15-a-side format. It is the most prestigious competition in the sport.
The sport of rugby sevens is usually an undeserved place next to 15s among the top players in the sport — until the Olympics and the continuous slashing nature of the sport and the loud music add an atmosphere of celebration to the games.
The celebrations didn’t stop at the Stade de France, with people who were admiring tennis players Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz play doubles on Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros cheering and cheer and wave their French flags before breaking into a chorus to “Allez, Les Bleus!”
It continued to go on. The French sevens team collected their gold medals at the top of the podium, and then joined with the other squads and danced around the center of the court.
South Africans win bronze
South Africa won the bronze medal despite conceding two late scores in the third-place match and Shaun Williams making the most of an overlap in the closing minutes to defeat Australia 26-19.
It was a tough game for the South Africans, who also took bronze during Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016 had an advantage of one man following Australian Captain Nick Malouf got dismissed during the second period for an unsportsmanlike attack. The Australians came back with two tries to draw level but couldn’t take the game into extra time.
New Zealand beat Ireland 17-7 to take fifth place. Argentina defeated Argentina 19-0 to beat the U.S. men 19-0 in the seventh-place playoff.