Fijiana 7s coach Saiasi Fuli is expected to announce his 15-member team for the Paris Olympics this week. Fuli mentioned that the team will depart for France on Monday, July 15.
“We will be at the HFC Bank stadium tomorrow,” Fuli said yesterday.
The Osea Kolisau-coached 15-member men’s sevens team already left on Monday.
The men’s sevens competition is scheduled from July 24-27, with the women’s tournament set for July 28-30. The men’s gold medal match on July 27 will award the first team sport gold medal of the Games.
The women’s competition features three highly competitive pools. Reigning Olympic champions and SVNS League winners New Zealand will face Fiji, Canada, and newly qualified China in Pool A.
Pool B will showcase Rio 2016 Olympic and SVNS 2024 gold medalists Australia competing against Ireland, Great Britain, and debutants South Africa.
Hosts France, who secured a silver medal at Tokyo 2020, are placed in Pool C. They will compete against the USA, Japan, and Brazil.
The men’s pools are as follows:
Pool A – New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, Japan
Pool B – Argentina, Australia, Samoa, Kenya
Pool C – Fiji, France, USA, Uruguay
World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont expressed his excitement: “The rugby sevens Olympic pools promise to be an epic, coming-of-age tournament for our sport in the French capital.”
He continued, “Our sport will have the honor of kicking off Paris 2024 in style with an exciting and spectacular brand of rugby that will thrill the hundreds of thousands of fans at Stade de France and capture millions more hearts and minds of those watching around the world.”
“Rugby sevens is a fantastic means to grow our sport. Making its third Olympic appearance, it is already proving to be one of the main attractions of the Games with record enthusiasm for tickets, intense rivalries, and two strong French national teams hoping to achieve their Olympic dreams on home soil.”
“We know from Rugby World Cup 2023 what an amazing rugby show Paris can put on, and the Olympic Games will be no different with knowledgeable and passionate fans expected to fill the stadium and create an incredible atmosphere for the players and teams to showcase their unique combination of speed, strength, and sensational skills.”
All the action will take place at a refurbished and packed Stade de France, which boasts 69,000 seats.