The first minor final of the season, and a great victory for the French Sevens rugby team (42-12). Beaten at the last minute by New Zealand in the semi-finals (28-26), coach Jerome Derrett’s men found the United States, a nation they had beaten soundly in the group stage (24-12).
Antoine Dupont, the star of rugby union, recently arrived at the VII, this time in Vancouver with the starting position on the synthetic turf, with the match starting on the field. He quickly distinguished himself at his expense, picking up a yellow card in the second minute of the game.
As soon as he returned to the field, DuPont scored back-to-back tries to Theo Forner and Aaron Grandidier, allowing the Blues to lead at the break (14-12). Returning from the locker room, French opened up, and DuPont closed the discussions with a personal exploit (42-12).
The French sevens rugby team thus produced its best performance of the season 151 days before the Paris Olympic Games (July 26 – August 11) this summer, where they will be among the outsiders. Next stop in Los Angeles, March 1 to 3, where DuPont will once again be the center of attention.
The French lost to New Zealand
For their part, in the same tournament, the French came up against the New Zealanders in the final, guaranteeing their status as Olympic champions (35–19).
Blue quickly outpaced the opposition and conceded their first try through Portia Woodman-Wickliffe (0-7), before immediately responding with the irresistible N-Cecil Cioffani, the world’s best player in 2021 (7-7). But, hardly ever did the blues catch their breath “Black Fern Sevens” Strike back and take the lead at the break (28-7). The rest was almost one-sided and New Zealand won their 34th title on the circuit.
At the Olympics, teammates of captain Karla Niesen, silver medalists in Tokyo in 2021, will once again be among the favorites for gold, with Australia and New Zealand as the main contenders. They will also try to win the first title in Los Angeles in early March.
