Absent in Tokyo, candidates for gold at home, the change in dimension of the Blues of rugby 7s

Three years after missing the Tokyo Games, the French men’s rugby sevens team hopes to win its first Olympic medal in Paris.

Three years ago, in Tokyo, they saw from afar the Blues fight until the final to bring home the first French medal, in silver, in the history of rugby 7s. This year, the Blues will be present on the pitch at the Stade de France, in front of their fans from Wednesday, July 24 (live on France Télévisions and france.tv), to face the United States (4:30 p.m.) and Uruguay (8 p.m.). Three years after “got slapped […] “quite severe” In the race to qualify for the Tokyo Games, according to the words of coach Jérôme Daret to the press on Monday, the players of the French men’s team are approaching the Paris Games in a very different environment.

Because in recent years, the team and the project have changed dimension. Coached by their historic captain Paulin Riva and, since the beginning of the year, their superstar Antoine Dupont, the Blues arrive in Paris crowned with their first title in the World Series, the rugby 7s world championship, won in May in Madrid.

“It’s a progression that has continued to tend towards professionalism, whether in the organization, the structuring of training. It has really emanated from all of that over the years.”explains Stephen Parez, the only member of the group to have already participated in the Olympic Games, in Rio in 2016. He assures that it is even “the day and the night”between the last Games and the current situation.

In this progression, the team relied in particular on “a fundamental work done by Christophe Reigt [le manager général]the clubs, the federation, the LNR [Ligue nationale de rugby]“underlines Jérôme Daret. He cites in particular the creation of the Supersevens, a professional competition launched in 2020, which made it possible to have “players more accustomed to discipline and bringing added value to the French team”This season, some have also been made available permanently or occasionally by their clubs, which has solidified the group.

The results were felt from 2023 and a serious campaign to validate on the field the automatic Olympic qualification as host country, as well as a 4th place finish after the last tournament. Before finally winning gold in 2024, in Los Angeles and Madrid. Enough to maintain a positive dynamic, and the spotlight that goes with it. “A team that doesn’t win doesn’t interest muchrecognizes Stephen Parez. As the performances, the finals, the bronze medals and the gold this year go by, we feel a much greater enthusiasm than before.”

On all these levels, the Blues have also been strengthened by the arrival of Antoine Dupont. Since his first training session at the beginning of January, he has taken part in the three medals won this year. “He gave us the key to winning”smiles the French captain Paulin Riva, before praising his high-level experience. But the strengths of this collective are not limited to the Stade Toulousain player. “The strength of this group is to have great individuals, many talented players, but above all the priority for the team, for the collective, always”explains the number 9 of the French XV, who assures to have joined a collective “who was already performing”.

Necessarily projected among the favorites after their results in 2024, the Blues are moving forward between ambition and caution. “We will go there with a lot of humility and determination at the same timeassures Jérôme Daret. We are here to look for gold. We are gold diggers. This year we managed to find a bit of a goldmine […] and we are in search of wanting to continue to grow.”