Dupont's Olympic debut to boost France's rugby sevens chances. Fiji aims for a three-peat

Antoine Dupont had one ambition when he switched his focus to what he described as the French Olympic project: a gold medal for the host nation.

The world's premier rugby player will get France’s Olympic medal campaign underway Wednesday, two days before the official opening ceremony of the Paris Games, when his team takes on the United States in the first Pool B game of the rugby sevens competition.

Stade de France will be at capacity and most of the attention will be on Dupont when the French kick off in the third game of a three-day men's tournament. It'll be the same on Day 2 when the French meet two-time Olympic champion Fiji, the most formidable force in rugby's condensed sevens format.

The U.S. men face France and Fiji on Wednesday, giving them a unique view of a pair of title favorites.

“When we get in that environment, besides maybe 14 players, give or take 50 friends and family coming in supporting us, the staff and the people watching on TV — we know it’s going to be us versus 69,000 people,” U.S. captain Kevon Williams said of facing the French. “We’re OK with that, we’ve been preparing for that, we’ve honed in and said, ‘It’s just us.'

"All we’ll see is the French jersey, so we’ll be ready.”

France hosted the Rugby World Cup last year and the national team again failed to lift the title. It has been a finalist three times at the sport’s biggest tournament.

With undisputed star of the 15-a-side game joining its ranks, France has peaked in the rugby sevens format in 2024. Dupont helped the French win a spot on the world series for the first time in 19 years, and then capped it with a victory in the series finale in Madrid.

The French evolution has coincided with an unusually lean season for Fiji.

Although Fiji head coach Osea Kolinisau is confident the team's bid for an Olympic three-peat will overshadow the inconsistent world series run by the time the men's sevens medals are awarded Saturday.

“We plan to keep that legacy going,” Kolinisau said. “We can claim it solely."

Kolinisau led Fiji to its first ever Olympic gold medal as captain in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro, where rugby sevens was featured on the Olympic program for the first time.

Kolinisau was rushed into the coaching role earlier this year to resurrect Fiji’s men’s program, and he reinstated what he calls the “Fijian way” — or instinct — for sevens rugby: “High tempo, high risk.”

In the series finale, the Fijians posted wins over Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand before losing to France in the semifinals.

For Argentina, a grand final loss to France in Madrid was a setback after it topped the league stage of the world series, winning three of the seven stops.

For the Olympic tournament, Argentina is grouped with Australia, Samoa and Kenya in Pool B. No. 2-ranked Ireland, Tokyo silver medalist New Zealand, Rio bronze medalist South Africa and Japan are in a tough Pool A. Uruguay joins France, Fiji and the U.S. in Pool C.

The top two teams in each group and the two best third-place teams advance to the quarterfinals, meaning two-thirds of the 12 starters are still in medal contention when the knockout phase starts.

That's the stage where the Fijians have come into their own at the two previous Olympics.

Jerry Tuwai has been integral in Fiji's first two Olympic runs and the 35-year-old playmaker was recalled by Kolinisau two months ago after almost a year out of the team.

A two-time Olympic champion, Sevens World Cup winner and player of the decade, Tuwai has embraced Kolinisau's approach ahead of the Paris Games.

“Our style of play has been opened up and our teamwork and communication. Our decision making — that’s another thing that opened up, too," Tuwai said. "After two Olympic gold medals, these boys have shown they always show up in very big tournaments.

"We have this legacy to defend.”

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games