More than a step towards the Olympic grail. After their victory against South Africa in the semi-final (19-5), the French rugby 7s team will face Fiji, the reigning double Olympic champions in the final of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Antoine Dupont’s partners will win the first Olympic medal for French rugby sevens no matter what. It is now up to them to bring back the most beautiful metal to France: gold.
In a Stade de France on fire, Jérôme Daret’s men found the spark in the semi-final against the valiant Springboks. Trailing three minutes from the end after a first South African try, the Blues, led by the entry of Antoine Dupont, reacted very quickly by scoring three tries in quick succession. The RC Toulon player, Rayan Rebbadj, even scored a double.
An almost unexpected final for these Blues after a sluggish start to the Olympic tournament. With a laborious victory against Uruguay (19-12), a draw against the United States (12-12) and a defeat against Fiji (19-12) on Wednesday, the Blues finished second in their group.
Sharper, more precise in the short game, the French team gradually reassured itself in the quarter-finals and semi-finals to play its first Olympic final against Fiji. The last meeting between the two teams is a good memory for the French: it was in the semi-final of the World Championship in Madrid, at the beginning of June. Antoine Dupont and his teammates won 21-14 before gleaning the title.
Undefeated since the start of the Olympic tournament, the Fijian Golgoths are no longer as valiant as in the past. Already victorious over the Blues in the group stage on Thursday, the Pacific men came very close to elimination against the valiant Irish in the quarter-finals before going on to defeat the Australians in the semi-finals (31-7).
>>The final of the Olympic tournament between France and Fiji is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. at the Stade de France. It will be broadcast on France Télévisions and Eurosport, and can be followed live with commentary on leparisien.fr.
