The arrival of Antoine Dupont has elevated France to real gold-medal contenders in rugby at the 2024 Paris Olympics, as the superstar scrumhalf hopes to help his country move on from their heartbreaking failure at the XV's World Cup last year.

An open-looking men's tournament gets underway at the Stade de France on July 24, two days before the Opening Ceremony, with the final on July 27, but Dupont will be the center of attention.

There is generally not much crossover between the two versions of the sport (rugby sevens and rugby 15s) but such is Dupont's talent and versatility that he not only dropped into the sevens squad seamlessly but has lifted France to unimagined levels.

Having previously shown scant interest in the format, with Dupont on board, France won in Los Angeles this year for its first World Series triumph in 19 years.

He then skipped back to his club Toulouse to help them win the European Champions Cup final and a week later was back in the sevens team, driving France to victory in the new season-ending Grand Final.

France suffered an agonizing quarterfinal loss to South Africa in its home Rugby World Cup last October in the XV's format, and while a gold medal in Paris will never erase that pain, it would certainly get the Olympics off to a flying start for the host nation.

In the Grand Final in Madrid on June 2, France beat Argentina, who had topped the regular-season standings for the first time and the South Americans will be strong podium contenders in Paris.

Fiji took third in Madrid, lifting the mood after a dire season for a country that considers rugby its national sport.

Fiji won its first Olympic gold in any sport at the 2016 Games in men's rugby and retained the title in Tokyo.

However, Fiji had its worst-ever campaign in the World Sevens regular-season series, where the country finished a distant sixth, failing to make the final in any of the seven tournaments and reaching the semis only once.

After finishing in the top four of the standings in all 23 of their previous World Series competitions, that has not gone down well in Fiji.

However, the encouraging signs shown in Madrid, combined with the incredible individual athleticism of so many of their players and its connection with the Olympics, means Fiji remain highly dangerous.

New Zealand, world champions a remarkable 14 times, 10 more than anyone else, and silver medallists in Tokyo, will also be in the mix along with Australia and late bloomers Ireland.

The women's competition looks like a much more straightforward affair with New Zealand and Australia in a class of their own but, as the Madrid Grand final showed, one slip-up in the pool phase could prove costly.

The old rivals won six of the seven World Series events between them, with New Zealand taking the regular season title in a last-round shootout between them.

However, a surprise pool stage defeat for New Zealand against Canada in Spain meant the "Big Two" met in the semis, with Australia pinching it then going on to beat France in the final.

Australia won the inaugural Olympic event in 2016, beating New Zealand in the final, while the Black Ferns took gold in 2021. It would be a huge surprise if this year's gold leaves the region on July 30.

Fiji took bronze in Tokyo, the only women's medal the country has ever won at the Olympics, but just like the men's team they look off the pace this season, finishing sixth in the World Series and seventh in the Grand Final.

France looks the best of the rest but a home double might be a step too far.