Captains from the 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams gathered at the Olympic Village on Monday ahead of what promises to be the most hotly-contested and highly-anticipated rugby sevens event in history.
Following rugby sevens’ debut at Rio 2016 and the Covid affected Tokyo 2020 Games, the sport is set to ‘come of age’ on the Olympic stage at its third edition in Paris in front of a record breaking crowd at the iconic Stade de France.
Rugby Sevens has proven to be one of the highest demand events in the Paris Games with a more than 550,000 fans expected to fill Stade de France across the eight competition sessions, and a worldwide television audience of many millions more.
The men’s competition will take place on 24, 25 and 27 July, when the first team sport gold medal of the Games will be awarded to the men’s rugby sevens champions. The equally highly anticipated women’s tournament follows on 28-30 July.
Australia and Samoa will have the honour of kicking off the Olympic competition as they take to the field for the first match at 15:30 local time CET (GMT+2) on 24 July. Hosts and recent SVNS Grand Final champions France inspired by global superstar Antoine Dupont will get their campaign under away the USA at 16:30 followed by double Olympic champions Fiji who face debutants Uruguay at 17:00.
Ireland and Great Britain will get play under way in the women’s tournament at 15:30 on 28 July, while reigning champions New Zealand play Challenger champions China and SVNS Grand Final champions Australia kick off against South Africa.
The competition format sees all teams play three pool matches with eight teams qualifying for the quarter-finals in the evening session of the second day of competition, before the third day sees the semi-finals and the all-important medal matches as Olympic dreams are realised and broken.
Rugby sevens is expected to be one of the highlights of Paris 2024, following the resounding success of Rugby World Cup 2023 in France. All the action will take place at Stade de France, which was the venue for the opening match and final of Rugby World Cup 2023.
Fiji have famously won both men’s gold medals to date – Rio being their first ever Olympic medal – but five different nations have won the men’s SVNS Series since 2016, while Argentina were crowned SVNS 2024 league winners and France claimed the inaugural SVNS Grand Final title in Madrid last month, demonstrating the depth of competitiveness.
Australia and New Zealand have lifted the women’s sevens game to new levels, winning one Olympic gold each, while France took silver at Tokyo 2020 and could provide a strong challenge on home soil, along with the likes of the USA and Canada among others.
All six World Rugby regions are represented among the 24 teams who secured their spots in Paris via the HSBC SVNS Series, regional qualification competitions and the World Rugby Sevens Repechage. There are three Olympic debutants with Uruguay and Samoa competing for the first time in the men’s competition while Ireland’s women make their first Olympic appearance.
World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “We anticipate a ‘coming of age’ event as rugby sevens kicks off the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France on Wednesday.
“The Paris Games is the jewel in the crown of the biggest-ever sevens season. The stage is set for what will be a spectacular celebration of our sport at its breathtaking best.
“Over six days of highly competitive and compelling action, the stars of sevens will shine brightly in front of what promises to be a record crowd for Sevens at these ‘Games wide open’, taking our sport, its values and the joy of the Olympic Games to record audiences around the world. Paris is ready. Rugby is ready. Let’s kick these Games off in style!”
Paris 2024 Executive Sports Director Aurelie Merle added: “It is going to be a big day for Rugby Sevens, and it’s also a big day for us at Paris 2024, with the start of competitions in both rugby and football. It is our ‘kick-off’. The stage is set – and what a stage!
“We want to make sure this third appearance of Rugby Sevens at the Olympic Games is an exceptional and high-profile showcase of a thrilling sport and its unique fan culture. With Paris 2024, we are hoping to add another dimension to the famous party culture that Rugby Sevens is known for. It’s a perfect fit with our vision to make these Games a spectacular and popular celebration.”
France men’s captain Paulin Riva said : “We feel good and we are very excited that rugby is the first discipline. We want to catch this medal. We have had an amazing season and we have a lot of confidence and experience against the big teams like Argentina, Fiji and New Zealand so we feel good and we just want to get on to the field on Wednesday. It will be a big atmosphere in Stade de France and we are very happy to see this for rugby sevens.”
On Antoine Dupont’s impact he added: “We think Antoine is the best player in the world and when he is on the pitch we feel a lot of confidence and it’s very good for the team.”
New Zealand women’s co-captain Sarah Hirini said: “I’m really happy to be back and at another pinnacle event. It is so special and it feels just like the first time with the energy and excitement around the Olympic Village and within our team.
“We’re going to try and do something that’s never been done before, trying to create history while enjoying the moment. I’m really proud that we will be playing in front of huge crowds, that’s the most important thing that we can achieve as a sport for the sevens. I was here for the men’s World Cup last year and being in that packed stadium is going to be electric.”
Double Olympic champion and Fiji men’s captain Jerry Tuwai said : “The main goal for us is to come and defend our Olympic gold. I’m very happy to be back. It was emotional for me when I was left out for some Series events but I’m really happy to be here and going for another gold medal.”
“It will be a great atmosphere and the pressure from the crowd will be on us to deliver when we play against France. Dupont is a very good player that influences people and makes other players around him tick and he has my respect, just the same as everyone else.”
Australia women’s captain Charlotte Caslick said: “We are very excited. After a great camp in Montpellier and a great end of the sevens season, we are finally here and can’t wait to begin. We have been playing very well but also felt we had a lot to work to do so we went home and did just that, working really hard to get ready.
“It is so special to have our family and friends in Stade de France and having the ability to share our experience with them. We have been practicing ways to be able to communicate between each other despite the crowd noise on the field, which is good. Even being part of Rugby World Cup 2023 in that crowd last year was already amazing.
“All the teams will be going for gold, but we have got the legend Sharni Smale and we would love to send her off with a fairytale finish as well as winning the gold. We obviously all want to win but have this extra motivation!”
Ireland men’s captain Harry McNulty said: “It’s been really nice to settle in to the Olympic Village. Everyone is feeling relaxed and calm, enjoying these special moments and we can’t wait to kick off. Everyone can beat everyone and my ambition is to lead the squad to a confident performance and be competitive.
“It’s amazing that we are kicking off the Games and I think it’s what the sport needs. We have such an amazing sport that reaches all the way around the world and sevens is so exciting with many thrills and we can’t wait to get started.
USA women’s captain, Naya Taper said: “Having so many fans in the stadium is both exciting and somehow scary, at least for me. Tokyo 2020 was great but we didn’t have the fans in the stands cheering or booing for us so I’m getting ready for that stimulation. We have been preparing and are definitely looking forward to begin.
“We are very happy with what we have been able to achieve last season but we know the past is the past and the present is the present. We are coming here with the learning and the confidence we gained from last season, bringing it to this tournament.
“Bearing in mind we won’t be the only one and nobody will give us an easy game but we are coming out here to make our friends and family proud and get on that podium with a gold medal, not a silver, not a bronze, but a gold medal.
“It is really inspiring to be playing on such a big platform. It relates to our philosophy that women can be a source of inspiration for anyone watching, young boys and young girls, fans and new publics, being somebody they want to follow behind and strive to be like and trying to be a role model on and off the field.”.
