On a remarkable Saturday night at the Stade de France, France’s men’s rugby Sevens team won their first ever gold medal during their home Olympics. Antoine Dupont masterminded a 28-7 triumph over Fiji, the twice reigning champions, marking France’s inaugural gold in the Sevens category. Despite Fiji, former winners in Rio and Tokyo, taking an early lead thanks to Joseva Talacolo, their winning streak was dramatically broken.
Rayan Rebbadj, who had shone in the semi-final defeat of South Africa, evoked an uproar among the home crowd when he scored an equaliser just before half-time. Dupont, the superstar scrumhalf, introduced from the bench, proceeded to set up a try for Aaron Grandidier Nkanang before squaring one himself, taking the score to 21-7.
In the concluding moments of the match, an ecstatic horde of 67,000 spectators watched as France retained ball control and Dupont punctuated the victory with a final-try, all but raising the stadium’s roof. Earlier in the day, South Africa had defeated Australia (reduced to six players) 26-19, with Shaun Williams scoring at the last second to secure a bronze medal.