100 days to go: Rugby sevens set for ‘coming of age’ at Paris Olympics
The dawn of an exciting new era for rugby sevens is rapidly approaching with the countdown to the Paris Olympics reaching an important milestone on Wednesday.
There are only 100 days to go until the Opening Ceremony in Paris, but rugby sevens joins football in the unique position of starting the Games two days early on July 24.
Thousands of passionate supporters are expected to fill the stands at the world-famous Stade de France, with a full house expected at every session over six massive days.
After three years of hard work, patience and resilience, the best women’s and men’s teams will put their Olympic dreams on the line in the pursuit of a historic gold medal.
New Zealand will look to defend their Tokyo gold against a talented women’s field which includes a red-hot Australia, and Fiji’s men’s side are looking to make it three Olympic golds in a row.
The men’s sevens Olympic champions will receive the first gold medal at the Games. Antoine Dupont is hoping to lead France to that honour, but there are a number of other worthy candidates chasing the same slice of history.
Nielsen research estimates that rugby sevens’ introduction to the Olympic Games at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 [held in 2021] saw 30 million new supporters take an interest in the sport.
Sevens will be under the spotlight ahead of the Opening Ceremony and rugby is ready to make the most of that golden opportunity at what is set to be the biggest Olympics yet for the sport.
World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin said it himself at the Hong Kong Sevens earlier in April: “(There has) never been a bigger year for sevens.
“We had a brilliant debut in Rio in 2016, obviously Abby (Gustaitis – who was sitting next to Gilpin) was part of what we did in Tokyo. It was devastating to be in the Tokyo Games a year later with no fans… we’re so excited about Paris. It’s going to be an amazing six days.
“Paris will be our big platform, our kind of coming of age of rugby sevens in the Olympics. We’re in the Stade de France, we know it’s going to be full, it’s going to be buzzing for rugby.
“We’re in conversation with LA28, that’s why LA is such an important part of the sevens program for us. We’re in conversation with Brisbane 32, so we feel like we’re a proper Olympic citizen as a sport which is really important.
“That allows us to continue to drive funding into not just the elite end of the sport that we’re seeing here but more kids around the world have opportunities to play.
“It’s a really important opportunity for the sport as a whole.”
France showed at Rugby World Cup 2023 that they know how to put on a rugby part. 11 women’s and men’s teams can already look forward to taking part in another big week for the sport in Paris, with one more spot still up for grabs.
The final Olympics-bound side in both events will be determined at the Repechage in Monaco on June 21-23. The Paris Games’ pool announcement will be made following that event in two months’ time.
Stade Louis II in Monaco will host 12 teams from both events, including South Africa’s Blitzboks who headline an impressive men’s lineup that includes SVNS Series sides Canada, Great Britain and Spain.
“The Olympic Games are the biggest multi-sport event in the world and a stage like no other for rugby players to share with other incredible athletes from across the globe,” World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said in a statement.
“The prize of being able to compete for your country for an Olympic medal is an incredibly precious one and I am sure we will see some intense and passionate world-class rugby in Monaco as teams compete for those highly coveted final qualification places to achieve their Olympic dreams.
“We know from Rugby World Cup 2023 what an amazing rugby show Paris can put on and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be no different with knowledgeable and passionate fans filling the stadium.
“It is a hugely exciting time for rugby sevens, with the launch of HSBC SVNS we are showing what our sport can offer not just on the pitch but through music, live experiences, food and of course, the incredible abilities of some of the fittest, strongest and most impressive athletes on the planet.
“The future is very bright for rugby sevens and I would like to wish all the best to those competing to join us at one of the biggest shows on earth at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Unsuccessful bitter ex Ulster player taking a pop shot at a side that isn't including his consistently poor mates up north
4 Go to commentsHis decision to play in France isn’t a petulant decision as this article suggests. I reckon that France is the perfect place to demonstrate that he can mix it in those battles Rassie references. It’s a good decision to try get into the squad. My personal opinion is that he wins more battles than he loses. I don’t have Rassie’s stats machine behind me, but Daymian’s is so strong moving through traffic and in the rip.
3 Go to commentsWow! Argie forward dominance is something I have not read in years….
1 Go to commentsIs the ‘snub’ really why he is leaving? He hasn’t said that has he? You don’t have to stay in SA to play for the Boks, so it’s not that he’s giving up on trying to get into the squad as the case would be in, say, England or New Zealand. Rassie made it clear that the early camps won’t feature all the players to play for the Boks this year so I can’t imagine Dayimani was too offended by being overlooked this time. It just seems like a sensationalist angle to take for a story without really knowing the player’s intentions.
3 Go to commentsWell, it is easily one of the best Irish sides, it’s just that their historical standard is very low.
4 Go to commentsThe Irish side is good. They have lost 2 games in the last 23 tests. In the last 12 months they have have a 60% win rate against the top 5 sides in the world. Over the same period south africa have a 67% win rate against the top 5 teams, and New Zealand are at 40%.
4 Go to commentsOnly 1247 days until RWC 2027 starts Bin Smuth🤣Can’t wait to see how unhinged you’re still gonna get between now & then
200 Go to commentsany chance either team will improve on their u20 world cup performances this time around? I assume both sides will be deeply disappointed with how things went.
6 Go to commentsAnother poor articles by a poor journo, nothing new from Ben, at least you are consistently bad lol, geez I will try and watch the match later, clearly Benny was only looking to one end of the pitch, hard to tell whom the Baby Blacks were playing if it wasn’t in the header 😄😄
7 Go to commentsNz should have won. I didn't watch the game, but the ref was at fault and the bounce of the ball and the Bokke used the Bomb squad and the Bokke slow the game down and the Bokke scrum. They should remove the scrum. The Bokke are to strong. Not fair. Nz should have won
7 Go to commentsProbably the worst article on a rugby match I have ever read
200 Go to commentsWho hurt this man.. LoL 😭
200 Go to commentsIt unfortunate for the Jaguares that they became formidable just as super rugby as we knew came to an end. However, the idea of bringing them back is nonsensical. While I enjoyed the Jaguares and the South African flavour of the comp, a selling point of this incarnation of super rugby is that all games are on a decent time for an Aussie audience.
4 Go to commentslol that’s your opinion Ben, All Blacks benefited from a forward pass try, SA played 77 min without a recognised hooker, missed a no try conversion and a penalty could have would have but didn’t
200 Go to commentsBrett, from my distant perspective, I hope you get to keep the Rebels. Any ideas of teams from Japan or Argentina are just crazy. Won’t happen. If you look at logistics, it is much easier to get to LA from Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney than to Buenos Aires. All with direct non-stop daily flights. You may even get some “gringos” to watch the games, with some younger players compared to Giteau and Nonu who still “play” in the area. I think it is virtually impossible to get a competitive Argie team for SR. All Pumas are in Europe, almost all second tier players are also in Europe. Fringe players are in South American pro rugby tournament (and many still in the MLR!) but these players who might be most interested in joining a new Jaguares do not have the skills to compete. As I have been saying since the Jaguares joined, they should have had TWO teams to make logistics for visiting teams better and Argie player development improved as well. Jaguares/Pumas was not ideal. But this is where Pichot and his cronies did not think long enough. Further the country with he new president “No hay Plata” Milei is in a very difficult situation. Galperin, the richest man in Argentina owns the Miami franchise of MLR. I don’t think you can get him to invest in Argentina. Actually, he played rugby himself. He was a fly half. He is worth around $6 billion!
4 Go to commentsWell done Baby Boks we will take the Draw. No 9 senseless long passes in those conditions. let’s move on and hope for some good weather
7 Go to commentsHow did it end a draw. South Africa didn’t score any points as far as I can see
7 Go to commentsNo doubt this will be a fantastic occasion and I plan to be there, but I think the bean counters have won out over the rugby brains. In my opinion, it is foolhardy to give the Black Ferns the experience of playing in front of 60,000+ at Twickenham a year before they might be playing there in a World Cup Final. Better to play France at Twickenham and Black Ferns at Kingsholm. The difference in takings would be miniscule.
1 Go to commentsDom kant
200 Go to commentsBen is a little incel desperately trying to stir the pot and stay relevant. We used to get mad at his articles. Now we just feel sorry for him
200 Go to comments