2024 Paris Olympics Rugby Sevens 24th-30th July

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Mens

Pool A
Ireland
Japan
South Africa
New Zealand

Pool B
Argentina
Australia
Kenya
Samoa

Pool C
Fiji
France
Uruguay
USA

Womens

Pool A
Canada
China
Fiji
New Zealand

Pool B
Australia
GB
Ireland
South Africa

Pool C
Brazil
France
Japan
USA

France vs Fiji final is probably the best outcome for the Paris Olympic Sevens.

As expected Fiji just too good for Aus.
I thought SA were bit hard done by on some decisions against France but it's final most want.

Rugby Fan wrote:France vs Fiji final is probably the best outcome for the Paris Olympic Sevens.

Absolutely! Whereas I would normally root for the underdog, I am not sure who that would be here. I have no horse in the race, but I suppose I am pulling for Dupont, because I like Dupont and so France can have something good to happen to the country....

Fiji all the way for me.

Allez les rouge, blanc et bleu!

I would like to see the USA do well here.

doctor_grey wrote:Allez les rouge, blanc et bleu!

I would like to see the USA do well here.

Oh well. They took a shot. If they had scored early on when they had the chance perhaps things would have been different. But that was that.

Dupont gets the honours with an outstanding second half showing.

Duty281 wrote:Dupont gets the honours with an outstanding second half showing.

Really liked the last France try: Dupont throws into a lineout deep in Fiji territory then reclaims the ball at the back of a maul and bags the try at the back end of a maul as if he is a hooker. I know sevens is a bit different, but that still made me chuckle.

7-7 in the first half without Dupont

21-0 in the second half after Dupont came on

The man is a freak. After the heartbreak in the QFs of a home RWC, I'm delighted for him to have won Olympic gold in Paris. He's the best rugby player I've seen and quite possibly the most fun to watch as well. We've been getting to witness an all time great for a good few years already and he's only 27.

That's a great result for the sport. Everyone loves to see Fiji excel but most rugby fans probably remember little about the last two Olympic Sevens finals. The home crowd, and the presence of Dupont might make more of an impression. Certainly, when people talk about Dupont in future club and country matches, his gold medal is bound to come up.

World Rugby would like to make hay with this but they have no rights to any of the Olympic footage, so can do very little right now.

In fact, their YouTube account is taking a lot of flak for putting out slightly misleading videos. "Blitzbok stun All Black 7s" is not the Olympic quarter final but the match between the two sides at the Vancouver round of the circuit. Similarly, "Ready for an Olympic quarter-final! | France v Argentina" is footage of the Madrid final, rather than the the Olympic match. It's clear from some of the comments that people think they are watching the Olympic fixtures.

https://www.youtube.com/@WorldRugby/videos

king_carlos wrote:7-7 in the first half without Dupont

21-0 in the second half after Dupont came on

The man is a freak. After the heartbreak in the QFs of a home RWC, I'm delighted for him to have won Olympic gold in Paris. He's the best rugby player I've seen and quite possibly the most fun to watch as well. We've been getting to witness an all time great for a good few years already and he's only 27.

For the 21 points after Dupont came on he scored two tries and created the other.

I think the one he created going down the blindside and then passing back inside after the drawing the covering defender really took all the wind out of the Fijian sails. Cemented the aura of Dupont in their minds and heads dropped.

To bounce back from the disappointment of the world cup and to take the pressure on as poster boy for the games, winning France's first gold of this Olympics. Great achievement. Completely agree, he's the best player going currently. There's not an area of weakness to him.

formerly known as Sam wrote:...Cemented the aura of Dupont in their minds and heads dropped...

Good observation. That's one thing Sevens has lacked of late - a player who has such stature, it gets in the heads of the opposition. Playmakers like Waisale Serevi and speedsters like Dan Norton used to have it. Fiji as a team still has it, though this loss puts a dent in that reputation.

The Women's competition starts today. On the main Sevens circuit, it's usually a tussle between NZ and Australia for the top spot, with France USA and Canada occasionally challenging. Ireland got an unexpected gold in Perth, the only team to win a round other than NZ and Australia, so they are in with a shout.

For all England's success at Womens's XVs, the GB Women's Sevens only placed 8th this season, just ahead of Japan and Brazil. GB women lost all five matches they played at the Grand Final in Madrid, so a performance in Paris will be a welcome surprise.

One team to watch is China, who have just been promoted to the main Series for next season. The Olympics might have come a bit early in their development but they are capable of giant-killing. We've already seen in the men's even how the pressure of being at the Games can get to the best teams.

For reference, in Tokyo, NZ took gold, France got silver and Fiji managed bronze (beating GB). Australia feel they are out to set things right in Paris, after missing out completely before.

Ireland vs GB
Australia vs SA
USA vs Japan
France vs Brazil
Fiji vs Canada
NZ vs China


Ireland vs SA
Australia vs GB
USA vs Brazil
France vs Japan
Fiji vs China
NZ vs Canada

GB women team all English barring Jasmine Joyce and Lisa Thompson.

Being brutally honest, do those players deserve to be in team or are they picked to say the GB team is made up of England/Wales/Scotland.

Going on form, team should be entirely English. Joyce was excellent in past but best days behind her. Thompson a very good player but best in GB?

mountain man wrote:...Going on form, team should be entirely English.

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, an English women's sevens side playing at home finished 5th. At the 2022 World Cup rugby sevens, the English women's sevens side finished 8th.

No top English, Welsh or Scottish players have been in world-beating sevens form for years, because they don't play the code. On the regular circuit, GB has generally finished 7th or 8th. If Russia hadn't been kicked out, we would have finished 9th.

Jasmin Joyce is one of the few Team GB sevens players who concerns opponents, so she isn't a token inclusion, and has been on the circuit. If the coaches were trying to appease all the unions, 50 cap Scottish winger Rhona Lloyd would not have been cut from the squad, after spending most of the season playing Sevens for GB alongside Joyce.

I'd love GB to show some form in Paris. The South African men showed you can have a terrible year and still get an Olympic medal. GB's underperformance is not just a one-off, though. The RFU, WRU and SRU have been indifferent to Sevens for years now.

Not happy with the reffing so far.

The first penalty had clear hands on the floor, a certain try was called back for a knock on that wasn’t, and Ireland have been allowed hands on the floor to disrupt GBR rucks and to seal off their own.

Well, I think Jasmine Joyce has justified her selection.

That looked 10 to me.

Shekles should have looked for the pass earlier there.

Ellie Kildunne on. Will she have an impact?

When GB played Ireland in Madrid, we lost 20-0, so a 12-21 win is the best way to kick off the Olympics. You just need to be one of the two best third place finishers to qualify, so that's a step in the right direction.

Rugby Fan wrote:When GB played Ireland in Madrid, we lost 20-0, so a 12-21 win is the best way to kick off the Olympics. You just need to be one of the two best third place finishers to qualify, so that's a step in the right direction.

Based on the men’s tournament, one win pretty much secures qualification. But a win like that against Ireland lays down a big marker.

Poorfour wrote:Well, I think Jasmine Joyce has justified her selection.

I'm just catching up on it now. Not a bad first touch from a quota selection...

Considering how little focus Sevens gets from the women's game, I think GB are shaping up pretty well. They are keeping their structure and shape in defence very well. Whilst they have several very dangerous runners. Isla Norman-Bell has been really impressive throughout.

Oz, NZ and France are heavy frontrunners for the medals but that's a promising start from GB.

I'm looking forward to the match between NZ and China, which is next up. The Chinese team has had a lot of input from NZ coaches, and prepared for Paris with a training camp in Rotorua and Tauranga. This also means NZ knows all about the Chinese side.

It's a big ask for China to trouble the current Olympic champions. The odds are on a big Black Ferns win. Still, if they keep the mistakes down, and NZ get off to a slow start, then it could be an interesting match.

Poorfour wrote:Well, I think Jasmine Joyce has justified her selection.

She took her try well but some pretty ropey defending.

Australia show how sevens should be played. Different level

mountain man wrote:

Poorfour wrote:Well, I think Jasmine Joyce has justified her selection.

She took her try well but some pretty ropey defending.

Tackling I meant. Pretty average and that's being kind.
However, don't bother replying just hit the dislike button

The American women are looking solid whilst not in top gear. They defeated Japan and Brazil so far.

I like this:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1817591842562883592

The Quarter Finals will work out as follows

Top of Pool A vs 2nd best 3rd Place Finish
2nd in Pool B vs 2nd in Pool C
Top of Pool C vs 2nd in Pool A
Top of Pool B vs Best 3rd Place Finish

If NZ beats Fiji (very likely) and GB beats South Africa (likely), then Fiji and SA are definitely out of the QFs with three losses. The loser of Japan vs Brazil will also be out with three losses.

A GB win over SA would see them qualify, probably as 2nd in Pool B, and facing a match against the winner of France vs USA. Mind you, Ireland could muddy the waters with a victory over Australia, and GB could still lose.

The best two third place finishers are most likely to come from Pool A and Pool B but a big win by Japan or Brazil over the other would put them in the mix. So far, the most likely names to fill the places in that fixture list are

NZ vs ?
Ireland or GB vs France or USA
France or USA vs Canada or China
Australia vs ?

The third place finishers look set to face NZ and Australia, which is about as hard as it gets. GB will be hoping to claim that Pool B second spot. They will still be heavy underdogs against France or USA but that's more of a chance than a match against NZ or Australia in current form.

Incidentally, if you want an indication of the wholesale neglect of the GB Sevens progarmme, try finding any information about Team GB Sevens at the Olympics on the websites or social media accounts of the RFU, SRU and WRU. Those are the three unions with responsibility for GB Sevens. It's crickets, except for a piece on the WRU site wishing Jasmine Joyce all the best.

There is a separate GB Sevens website which was only set up earlier this year, and hasn't been updated since the men failed to quailify for Paris. That's right. The dedicated website for GB Sevens doesn't even have the womens Olympic squad announcement, let alone any news of the matches.

https://gbrugbysevens.com/news/

The GB Sevens twitter account (@GBRugbySevens) has 6,184 followers, and very little engagement. The Instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/gbrugbysevens) has more regular posts, with 23,500 followers but again very little engagement.

By comparison, the former Wales 7s captain, Luke Treharne, has an account for the short code (https://www.instagram.com/this_is_7s/) which has over 100,000 followers.

On the Team GB Olympic website, the Sevens squad profiles haven't been updated since the Tokyo Olympics.

https://www.teamgb.com/sport/rugby-sevens/206qg0QZKU64ZvZfTJ6hks

Rugby Fan wrote:Incidentally, if you want an indication of the wholesale neglect of the GB Sevens progarmme, try finding any information about Team GB Sevens at the Olympics on the websites or social media accounts of the RFU, SRU and WRU. Those are the three unions with responsibility for GB Sevens. It's crickets, except for a piece on the WRU site wishing Jasmine Joyce all the best.

There is a separate GB Sevens website which was only set up earlier this year, and hasn't been updated since the men failed to quailify for Paris. That's right. The dedicated website for GB Sevens doesn't even have the womens Olympic squad announcement, let alone any news of the matches.

https://gbrugbysevens.com/news/

The GB Sevens twitter account (@GBRugbySevens) has 6,184 followers, and very little engagement. The Instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/gbrugbysevens) has more regular posts, with 23,500 followers but again very little engagement.

By comparison, the former Wales 7s captain, Luke Treharne, has an account for the short code (https://www.instagram.com/this_is_7s/) which has over 100,000 followers.

On the Team GB Olympic website, the Sevens squad profiles haven't been updated since the Tokyo Olympics.

https://www.teamgb.com/sport/rugby-sevens/206qg0QZKU64ZvZfTJ6hks

I think the notion of a GB 7s might be a good idea in theory. After all it is the UK in the Olympics, not the constituent parts. But if barely supported with minimal effort, if that much, to highlight, share info, provide an internet presence, and so on, then what's the point? And with the women's game growing in many parts of the globe, this seems to me far more than just a missed opportunity.

I actually think the women's 7s game in America is more popular, or at least better promoted, than the men. That is part of great trend in America over the last 20-30 years where women's sports are generally well received and well supported. So maybe the Rugby women's teams can have a bit of a halo effect on the men. And the learnings should be shared.

Given how dominant England are in 15s, the contrast to 7s is stark.
The forward power England have in 15s is of course absent and emphasis for the best players also tends to be there. Likes of Meg Jones and Kildunne have made switch for Olympics but given gulf between best teams and rest(GB in latter catagory) then the home nations would have to commit to and concentrate on 7s to have any chance for 2028. Just playing for a few months pre tournament not enough but given priority in game both for men and women is 15s I can't see much change occurring.

Since I first saw him I have always regarded Gareth Edwards as the best Scrum Half I ever saw.
Until now that view has not changed.
Since then a couple of Aussies, a South African and an Argentinian come to mind (I think you can worked out who they are), as serious challangers.

Having watch Dupont in the last couple of years I have to say after 50 odd years Gareth has finally lost his crown.
Watching rugby since the mid 60s Dupont is the best 9 I have ever seen.

doctor_grey wrote:
I think the notion of a GB 7s might be a good idea in theory.  After all it is the UK in the Olympics, not the constituent parts.  But if barely supported with minimal effort, if that much, to highlight, share info, provide an internet presence, and so on, then what's the point?  And with the women's game growing in many parts of the globe, this seems to me far more than just a missed opportunity.  

I actually think the women's 7s game in America is more popular, or at least better promoted, than the men.  That is part of great trend in America over the last 20-30 years where women's sports are generally well received and well supported.  So maybe the Rugby women's teams can have a bit of a halo effect on the men.  And the learnings should be shared.  

US women's sports don't have the competition from gridiron that the men's sports do, which I think makes soccer and rugby a good place for US college teams to place their funding bets, given they're required to invest as much in the women as the men. The UK doesn't have that.

In two weeks' time Ms Poorfour Maj is off to the Ultimate Rugby 7s camp, which is effectively the UK 7s academy. Reports from team mates who have done it before are that it's very good... but I suspect that it will be hard to retain players who have a potential future in 15s. But the programme casts its net pretty wide and ought to start producing talent in the next few years. One of her team mates is a very obvious 7 in the full game but hates playing in the forwards and is fast enough to play fullback - I could see her having a future in 7s.

It's almost impossible to compare eras given how in 1970s the game was amateur, the physical conditioning was minimal compared to today, weights were what you did for a bus etc.

Edwards widely regarded as best 9 and maybe best ever player but Dupont can do it all. Attack, defence, kicking, breakdown etc. Rugby was different back in the day and breakdown wasn't a thing as had rucking but the way Dupont competes and wins ball at breakdown is incredible. He is so strong and built like a mini 7.

I think Dupont gets the crown.

Women's HSBC Sevens only started in 2012, so there's not a long history. In the first year, England finished second, and won one out of the four rounds played. The general expectation was that we would be a Womens Sevens powerhouse, as we had the playing numbers and the RFU had the funds.

20 England women were awarded full-time Sevens contracts in 2014. The contracts were awarded to ensure England qualified Team GB women for the Rugby Sevens in Rio.

Somehow, though, England could never get the playing balance right. While NZ, Australia and Canada could simultaneously run competitive XVs and Sevens teams virtually from the off, English players felt pulled in different directions by club and country commitments. Meanwhile, unions like USA and France started showing up as forces in Women's Sevens.

England is not alone in that. Ireland famously had a bust-up over underperformance by the Womens XVs and Sevens, which the players put down to mismanagement of resources.

England muddled through the Sevens circuit with a series of fourth-place finishes, which is exactly where we finished in Rio. After that, the wheels fell off. The best result England Women had after 2016 (the last year we won a round on the circuit) was a 6th place finish in 2018-9. 8th is not uncommon, and is now the bare minimum standard to avoid relegation.

When the WRU, SRU and RFU pulled Sevens funding ahead of the delayed Tokyo Olympics, individual players had to do fund-raising activities themselves, for money to get to the Games. In the end, the National Lottery filled the shortfall, so we could actually send teams. It was a minor miracle that both squads just missed out on medals, given the shambolic preparation.

Now in Paris, we are in much the same position. No funding, no marketing, and mainly relying on lower-level professionals to keep the show on the road.

Oops... South Africa decided to turn up against GB, and took a 12-0 lead. GB got a score back on the stroke of half-time to make it 12-7

Happy bounce of the ball from the second-half restart gave us a straight run through under the sticks.

GB 14-12 SA

GB yellow card for grabbing the hair.

South Africa score straight from the resulting scrum, so GB is under the pump again.

GB 14-17 SA

GB back in front. There are 50 seconds to go

GB 19-17 SA

Jasmine Joyce scores to clinch the win.

GB 26-17 SA

That was closer than expected. South Africa threw everything they had at that.

A bit of footwork, and a missed tackle sees Faith Nation streak away for a try against Ireland.

Australia 7-0 Ireland

Final score

Australia 19-14 Ireland

That's also a lot closer than expected. Even with just one win, Ireland have a decent points difference to be one of the two best third places.

If Ireland get the best 3rd place finish, then they'll face Australia again in a Quarter Final.

Rugby Fan wrote:
Somehow, though, England could never get the playing balance right. While NZ, Australia and Canada could simultaneously run competitive XVs and Sevens teams virtually from the off, English players felt pulled in different directions by club and country commitments. Meanwhile, unions like USA and France started showing up as forces in Women's Sevens.

When the WRU, SRU and RFU pulled Sevens funding ahead of the delayed Tokyo Olympics, individual players had to do fund-raising activities themselves, for money to get to the Games. In the end, the National Lottery filled the shortfall, so we could actually send teams. It was a minor miracle that both squads just missed out on medals, given the shambolic preparation.

Now in Paris, we are in much the same position. No funding, no marketing, and mainly relying on lower-level professionals to keep the show on the road.

One big difference for the women is that the Red Roses (the 2021 RWC Final notwithstanding) are pro and have been the dominant team in 15s for most of the past 5 years, and England has a semi-professional league that is heading fairly quickly towards being fully pro.

In most other unions, 7s offers a chance for a good player with enough speed to make a living on the circuit, and there aren't many options beyond that. In England you have competition. The success of the Roses is partly at the cost to GB 7s.

There's also the added complexity of GBR vs the constituent nations. In a sport where marginal gains make a big difference, GBR 7s have a long list of marginal losses.

USA started brightly, then France just rolled over them. USA grabbed a try back and might have had another but they rushed the move to try and make time for an additional score. They came away with nothing, and France scored a breakaway to rub salt into the wound.

France 31-14 USA

GB will play USA in the quarter finals

Quarter-final line-ups:

NZ vs China
GB vs USA
France vs Canada
Australia vs Ireland

Heads up for anyone who missed it live, BBC iplayer doesn't seem to have match that I can find but if you search GB v SA sevens in youtube the highlights are there.

GB on the board first

Converted too

GB 7-0 USA

Joyce getting plaudits for a try-saving cover tackle. GB keep a slender 7-5 lead at half-time