The French rugby 7s team won its first Olympic title in history by beating Fiji (28-7), the reigning double Olympic champions, this Saturday, July 27 at the Stade de France. Les Bleus played a perfect match against the Fijians, who had never lost a single match at the Olympic Games.
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The Blues of rugby 7s wrote the first page of their Olympic history on July 27 at the Stade de France. Carried by an unleashed French public who never stopped encouraging them throughout the competition, despite a tricky start to the tournament, the French team won the first gold medal for the French clan at these 2024 Olympic Games.
This first Olympic victory in their history is all the more magnificent as it was won against the formidable Fijians who had never yet suffered a single defeat in three editions of the Olympic Games – rugby 7s having been included in the Olympic Games since 2016 in Rio – and were on a run of two consecutive victories.
It was a white-hot Stade de France, which gave rugby 7s an Olympic welcome throughout the tournament, which took its team to new heights in the best possible way. After a long entrance onto the pitch and the first Marseillaise sung in communion between the players and the public, the match immediately got going.
The Fijians wasted no time in scoring an opening try through Joseva Talacolo (0-7) after just one minute, to give the French a head start. But the Saint-Denis crowd did not let them get dizzy and pushed their players even harder.
The Flying Fijians, rough and cunning, first managed to disarm all the Blues’ attacks, like on this combination by Parez Edo who was quickly mowed down by an attentive Fijian. France finally got back into the game thanks to Jefferson-Lee Joseph (7-7), perfectly served by Andy Timo who had broken through the opposing line. The two players then sent the Stade de France into orbit, and that was only the beginning.
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France relentless in the last seven minutes
Neither team wanted to concede anything to the other until half-time. But in the last seven minutes of their Olympic tournament, the Blues probably had the best period in their history against an opponent of this size.
Antoine Dupont, the stadium idol, distinguished himself immediately after his entry with a crazy rush on the left wing before serving Aaron Grandidier for the second French try (12-7). The Fijians then began to doubt, jostled as rarely, and a hint of feverishness began to emerge in their movements. The French forced their opponents to retreat in front of their in-goal area, and an inspired and clinical Dupont hammered the nail in the coffin by coming to score the 3rd and 4th French tries (28-7) against the completely stunned Fijians.
The team therefore played the perfect match at the best time, even though their tournament had started with many doubts and uncertainties. Antoine Dupont’s Olympic bet was successful, as he swept away the bad memories he still had in Saint-Denis with the French XV.
After singing the Marseillaise again with their fans, the players took advantage of the atmosphere for a long time by doing a long lap of the track. They even offered their supporters a few dance steps, they who had been seen rehearsing a choreography on social networks a few days ago. We wanted to position rugby sevens in the landscape of rugby and French sport, I think we have made our mark. It has been a long journey “, admitted Jérôme Daret, the coach of the French team, after their victory. What is certain is that they have forever entered the history of French sport and the minds of their public.
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