A storybook gold medal match played out at Stade de France as host nation France took on two-time Olympic champion Fiji. The French defeated the reigning champions with a 28-7 win behind rugby star Antoine Dupont's two tries.
Fiji scored in the opening minute and a half of the match when Selestino Ravutaumada charged down the field and offloaded the pass to Joseva Talacolo. Talacolo was seen teary-eyed as the anthems played out before the match.
Before the end of the half, the 67,000-strong crowd went nuts as Andy Timo crashed the ball down the field and offloaded it to Jefferson-Lee Joseph to knot the score at seven. Fiji was threatening in stoppage time at the end of the first, but Ryan Rebbadj made a try-saving tackle and both teams entered the half even at seven.
After the break, French superstar Antoine Dupont subbed in and wasted no time making his presence known. He powered his way down the sideline before popping the pass to Aaron Grandidier who touched it down, and France jumped out to a 14-7 lead with six minutes to go.
Dupont’s impact was hard to miss in the gold medal match. Off a penalty restart, Dupont quick tapped and brought the ball into the try zone and the crowd noise raised to a deafening level.
As time expired, France mauled its way into the try again. Of course, Dupont had possession to seal the win for the host nation. After not qualifying for Tokyo, France won the host nation’s first gold medal at the 2024 Paris Games.
Dupont after the game called winning the match the cherry on top and added, “It’s such a great honor to win this title and I have such great emotions. It’s hard to describe. It is such a great thing to achieve with these boys. It’s really top of the list."
The rugby union star didn't rule out more sevens in his future. “I don’t know yet," he said. "I will enjoy this moment and then we’ll see."
Fiji captain Jerry Tuwai became the first individual to earn three Olympic rugby medals (two gold, one silver). After the match, the Fijian captain gave credit where credit is due. “It was not what we wanted but France was too good for us today," he said. "We started really well but a lot of things happened that didn’t go our way...I wanted to end my career with another gold but not everything goes to plan."
The Fijian mainstay was also asked about his future at the international level and hinted this could've been it, “I think it feels like the end for me at this moment. But in a few days, let’s see".
See the results of the other matches here.