The first day of women’s rugby at the 2024 Paris Games saw many high-scoring and lopsided victories. The 66,000 fans in attendance set a new record for a women’s rugby event. 

Australia, France, New Zealand and the United States each confirmed quarterfinal spots by going 2-0 in pool play. Pool play wraps up Monday before the quarterfinals in the second session. 

The Aussies looked like the most dominant team on a day full of lopsided matches. After a disappointing fifth-place finish in Tokyo, the team put up a 36-5 win over Great Britain and a 34-5 win over South Africa. The team’s performance was led by the Levi sisters. Maddison and Tegan combined for an astounding 47 of the 70 points Australia scored. 

Maddison’s four tries in the first match tied the Olympic try-scoring record for a single match. Levi is no stranger to scoring, she scored 69 tries this past season, which is the second-most ever by a SVNS Series player, male or female and the most since the 1999-2000 season.

Maddison was very humble after the match when speaking with media, “I scored a few tries but mainly it was a team effort. It was good to get a first win under our belts and move on to the rest of the tournament. That was our aim today.”

After the match, Australian captain Charlotte Caslick spoke to the media about what the team learned from not getting a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

“It is a part of sport that it brings highs and lows. But we have achieved a lot since then, so we have definitely moved on and are really looking forward to this campaign. That loss in Tokyo has really helped us to grow.

The U.S. women demonstrated a well-balanced offensive effort in both matches. The two matches saw six different try scorers with Ilona Maher, Sammy Sullivan and Alex Sedrick scoring a try in each match. Veteran Kristi Kirshe scored two tries in the first match against Japan. Alev Kelter added a tally against Brazil, while Sarah Levy scored her first Olympic try against Japan. Maher executed a particularly memorable stiff arm in her try against Japan.

Maher proved she’s in Paris for more than just her social media posts. After scoring two tries on the day, she spoke to the media and explained why her use of social media is so important at the Games. 

“It is really important to have a profile, and a profile for our sport. It’s about building the brand. We are female rugby players - we’re not getting million-dollar contracts, we’re not getting paid the money that we should be”. 

She added, “And I think it’s just about showing the personality that the women have. The game is very strong, not just for men, but for women too”. 

Maher also said she hopes fans realize how exciting the game of rugby is. “It’s a little bit different but it’s when people realize how hard it is and how much fun they get excited by it.”

Reigning Olympic champions New Zealand looked impressive behind a hat trick from Jorja Miller.

The French women’s team looks to replicate the feat achieved by their men's counterparts -- win a gold medal on home soil. The host nation didn’t concede a single point all day while scoring a combined 75 points in their two matches.

Tokyo bronze medalist, Fiji, had a disappointing Day 1 with two losses. China surprised the island nation with a 40-12 upset. There’s an outside chance Fiji could still advance, but it isn’t likely with a minus-31 point differential.

See the updated pool standings here.