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The fervent French crowd couldn’t let their home rugby sevens team lose momentum. However, the Fiji men’s team had never lost a match on the Olympic stage.
Something had to give, and the result was one of the greatest moments in French Olympic history, with a 28-7 victory that secured the host nation’s first gold medal of the 2024 Olympics.
For the first time in 100 years, since the last time the Olympics were held in Paris, the French team medaled in rugby. It did so in the most dramatic fashion on Saturday.
Facing a formidable challenge as the heavy underdogs to Fiji, who had won gold and remained unbeaten in every rugby sevens match at the Olympics since the sport debuted in 2016, France went down early as Fiji flexed its historical dominance.
With 5:39 left in the first half, Joseva Talacolo capped off an impressive Fiji run to score the first try of the game, giving the defending champions an early lead. From there, Fiji’s defense appeared to be an impenetrable fortress as France maintained possession but struggled to advance the ball.
Fiji entered the match with a 17-0 all-time record in Olympic play and seemed poised for a threepeat.
However, with two minutes remaining in the first half, France broke through, igniting the home crowd behind a try from Jefferson-Lee Joseph and a conversion kick from Rayan Rebbadj to even the score, sending a stunned Fiji into the locker room for halftime.
The second half began with France appearing far more confident. Their dominant drives were powered by breakaway runs from team legend Antoine Dupont. The team captain electrified the Stade de France crowd with a darting run down the field before passing to Aaron Grandidier Nkanang, who scored the go-ahead try.
“Dupont, Dupont,” the stadium chanted as Paulin Riva converted to put France up 14-7.
With bated breath, the thousands of fans watched the clock, hoping the seconds would pass faster as Fiji fought to tie the match.
The final two minutes left the national stadium’s 67,000 fans in a state of anticipation.
As Fiji pressed to level the score, France took advantage and broke down the field for another try, with Dupont scoring with 1:20 remaining. The 21-7 score ignited an early celebration, with fans shaking the stadium in anticipation of the historic moment.
A minute later, Dupont sealed the victory with another try on the final play, setting off fireworks and earning France its first gold medal.
After the players shook hands and embraced with joy, the celebration began. The French team gathered in the center of the pitch, with several players performing a choreographed dance to Will Smith’s song “Miami.” Lights shone on the players as they danced, and when they struck their final pose, the crowd erupted in cheers.
A fitting end to a historic day for French sport.