Fijiana 7s coach, Saiasi Fuli, is expected to name his 15-member team for the Paris Olympics this week. Fuli announced that the team will depart for France on Monday, July 15.
“We will be at the HFC Bank stadium tomorrow (today),” Fuli noted.
Meanwhile, the Osea Kolisau-coached 15-member men’s sevens team left on Monday. The men’s sevens competition runs from July 24-27, while the women’s tournament is scheduled 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 competitive pools. The reigning Olympic champions and SVNS League winners, New Zealand, will compete in Pool A against Fiji, Canada, and newly qualified China. Pool B includes Rio 2016 Olympic and SVNS 2024 gold medalists Australia, who will face Ireland, Great Britain, and newcomers South Africa. Hosts France, one of the top-ranked teams with a silver medal at Tokyo 2020, will play against the USA, Japan, and Brazil in Pool C.
For the men, Pool A includes New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, and Japan. Pool B features Argentina, Australia, Samoa, and Kenya. Pool C comprises Fiji, France, USA, and Uruguay.
World Rugby Chairman, Sir Bill Beaumont, commented, “The rugby sevens Olympic pools promise to be an epic, coming-of-age tournament for our sport in the French capital. Our sport will have the honor of kicking off Paris 2024 in style with an exciting and spectacular brand of rugby that will excite the hundreds of thousands of fans in Stade de France and capture millions more hearts and minds of those watching around the world. Rugby sevens is a fantastic engine to grow our sport, and on its third Olympic appearance, it is already proving to be one of the attractions of the Games with record enthusiasm for tickets, mouthwatering 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 seats 69,000.