Antoine Dupont of France surged past Fiji’s Waisea Nacuqu to score a try during the men’s gold medal Rugby Sevens match between France and Fiji at the 2024 Summer Olympics, held at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France, on Saturday, July 27, 2024.
Guided by the exceptional Antoine Dupont, France secured a historic 28-7 victory over the two-time Olympic champions Fiji in a thrilling rugby sevens final, earning the hosts their first gold medal of the Paris Games.
Widely regarded as one of the world’s best 15-a-side players, Dupont came off the bench to orchestrate a remarkable second-half performance. He scored two tries and assisted another, leading to Fiji’s first-ever Olympic defeat.
Fiji started strong, breaking through French tackles and offloading effectively, allowing Joseva Talacolo to score a try under the posts just over one minute into the game. However, Les Bleus quickly responded, with Andy Timo’s perfectly timed pass setting up Jefferson-Lee Joseph to score.
French coach Jérôme Daret initially kept star player Dupont on the bench, as he had for most of the tournament, but brought him on at half-time with the scores level. Dupont’s impact was immediate.
He broke down the wing from the restart, outpacing Fijian legend Jerry Tuwai and delivering a try-scoring pass to Aaron Grandidier Nkanang. Dupont then took a quick tap penalty, catching the Fijian defense off guard, and darted under the posts to score. He added another try after the buzzer, sending the Stade de France crowd into a frenzy, with President Emmanuel Macron watching from the VIP stands.
Dupont’s decision to skip this season’s Six Nations to focus on winning Olympic gold in sevens was questioned, but it proved to be a brilliant move.
Earlier on Saturday, South Africa fended off a strong comeback from Australia to claim the bronze medal with a 26-19 victory.
World Rugby executives have praised the Paris Olympics as a pivotal moment for rugby sevens, which debuted at the 2016 Rio Games. They project that up to 550,000 fans will attend the eight sessions of both the men’s and women’s tournaments at the Stade de France.
The women’s event begins on Sunday, with Australia and New Zealand emerging as clear favorites.