Rainy conditions set the stage at Stade de France for the placement and semifinal matches. New Zealand, Argentina, Ireland and the United States faced off for in the placement matches. South Africa battled France and Fiji played Australia in the semifinal matches. See the rugby sevens bracket here.
New Zealand vs. Argentina
New Zealand put their quarterfinal upset behind them, defeating Argentina 17-12.
The All Blacks struck first with a try from Akuila Rokolisoa. Tobias Wade answered for Argentina after penalties advanced the ball. The two teams entered the half even at 7.
Slippery conditions led to sloppy play for much of the second half. Argentina’s Luciano Gonzalez finally broke through for the go-ahead try. In the final minute, off a lineout, Moses Leo broke several tackles to tie it up. In extra time, Andrew Knewstubb scored the game-winning try after a nice passing sequence off a ruck.
Ireland vs. United States
A win would’ve guaranteed the Americans at least a sixth-place finish, matching their Tokyo finish. The Irish looked strong all tournament until they ran into Fiji in the quarterfinals. Ireland emerged victorious over the United States, 17-14.
Hugo Lennox took advantage of a gap in the American’s defense to put Ireland on the board first. Aaron Cummings exploited a missed tackle to even the score as time expired in the first.
With two minutes remaining, Perry Baker scored to put the Americans up 7. Zac Ward answered almost immediately for Ireland. Mark Roche missed the conversion, the U.S. remained up by two with just 12 seconds to go. Pita Vi committed an untimely offsides penalty as time expired. Off the scrum, veteran Terry Kennedy turned on the wheels to find the try zone for the 17-14 win.
With his try, Baker passed former teammate Carlin Isles for sole possession of the most Olympic tries in rugby sevens history with 10 career tries. A subdued Baker after the match reacted to his accomplishment, "It has not really hit me. I would trade it all to be on the podium at the end of the day."
When asked what he'd remember most from the 2024 Paris Games he responded, “Just the brotherhood and the fight that the boys had. We are the only sport where you get knocked out of the medal round and have to come back and play again, and then come and put on a performance. So it is so hard."
The Americans will play Argentina in their final match of the tournament.
South Africa vs. France
The first of the semifinal matches saw a lot of back-and-forth action but no score before the half. The host nation beat South Africa 19-5.
Tristan Leyds took advantage of a bad offsides penalty by French hero Antoine Dupont to put South Africa on the board first. France answered with a showman try from Ryan Rebbadj. They’d convert the kick to go up 7-5.
Late in the second, Dupont found redemption with a quick tap to Rebbadj for the insurance try for France. The French advanced to the gold medal match in front of a happy 69,000-strong crowd.
After the match, Dupont noted the French aren't done yet, “We obviously want to win the gold medal. We still have one more game so we need to stay focused if we want to win tonight against a big team."
Fiji vs. Australia
The rain continued to fall in Paris, impacting play. Fiji looked to return to its third-straight gold medal game. The Island nation secured a 31-7 win over Australia.
Ben Dowling chased a kick into the try and placed the ball down for the first score of the game. As time expired at the half, Joji Nasova ran 95 meters down the field to even the score.
A nice juke by Fijian star Jerry Tuwai set up an early second-half try by Iosefo Masi. After that, the flood gates opened for Fiji who cruised to a 31-7 win. Fiji and France will face off in the gold medal match, while Australia and South Africa will battle for bronze.
Japan vs. Uruguay
Japan faced Uruguay in the 11th-12th place match. Uruguay ended its Olympic debut on a high note with a 21-10 win over Japan.
Juan Gonzalez wasted no time for Uruguay and broke through Japan’s defense for the 7-0 lead. Japan’s defense left too many holes and Uruguay entered halftime up 21-5. Shotaro Tsuoka added another try for Japan, but that’s as close as the game got. Uruguay secured their first win of the tournament.
Samoa vs. Kenya
Samoa and Kenya played in the 9th-10th place match. Kenya won the hard-fought battle, 10-5.
John Okoth demonstrated his strength with a try midway through the first half. Wet conditions led to long drives and near tries by both teams, but no conversions. Okoth added a second try early in the second half, but Samoa avoided the shutout with a try by Motu Opetai.