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Iconic French rugby star Antoine Dupont kicks off Olympic action at the Paris Games today in a move that could not have been better scripted.
Rugby sevens will be held from July 24-30, with three days apiece for the men and women’s tournaments at the Stade de France.
Dupont, the captain of Toulouse and France in the 15-a-side format, has become one of the faces of the Games after his successful switch to the abbreviated game.
His absence from last season’s Six Nations did not sit right with many France fans, still in shock at the team’s quarter-final exit from the Rugby World Cup on French soil.
But for all the criticism, his absence, and Olympic presence, has been two years in the making. World Rugby boss Alan Gilpin said the inclusion of Dupont in the Olympics was essential to keep growing the sport.
“The Dupont impact is incredible,” Gilpin said. “It’s provided a profile that we need to keep building.”
Dupont’s impact as a player in sevens has been striking.
The combative scrum-half helped France to a first tournament win on the sevens series in 19 years, before helping the team to victory in the season-ending championship finale in Madrid.
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“For any sports fan, the Olympics are still mythical, the Holy Grail of sport... and to be in with a chance of winning an Olympic medal is a highly motivating challenge,” Dupont said.
While Dupont might grab the headlines, it is Fiji who are the undisputed kings of Olympic sevens.
The Fijians come into the tournament as double defending champions after striking golds in Rio in 2016 and the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021.
Fiji, drawn in Pool C alongside France, Uruguay and the United States, have a new coach in former player Osea Kolinisau -- skipper of the team that won in Rio.
“Our biggest rivals, we talked about this in training, is ourselves,” said Kolinisau, who replaced Englishman Ben Gollings as coach in March.
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