As the French rugby sevens team returned for their second game of a frenzied start to the Olympic Games, there was, unexpectedly, some jeopardy involved. An obvious reason why these contests had started so early, two days before the opening ceremony, was the hope that this highly rated French team, topped by a sprinkling of Antoine Dupont’s greatness, would set the tone as France’s first athletes in competition for an incredible event to come.
But in their opening contest of the day, three and a half hours earlier, France had stumbled to a 12-12 draw against a solid USA team. Under no circumstances could that be repeated.
Their return to the pitch was soundtracked by roars of “Allez les Bleus” and multiple renditions of La Marseillaise from a full crowd of nearly 80,000 spectators. But again, they were sluggish and sloppy against a gritty Uruguayan team. They closed out the first half of their must-win game trailing 5-7.
The moment demanded a touch of brilliance, and it was only ever going to come from one soul. Early in the second half, Dupont snatched the ball from the halfway line and off he went. He weaved, stutter‑stepped and twirled, and after tearing across the pitch while breaking free of his pursuers, he finished his ridiculous solo run with an essential try. That would be the last time that France were behind as they closed out a tense 19-12 win.
None of this was a surprise. Dupont has demonstrated his genius time and time again, establishing himself as one of France’s greatest athletes in recent times. He has already methodically compiled a tremendous résumé, leading his club and country to significant trophies while also garnering countless individual accolades.
Many others would have been satisfied with such a career and trajectory at 27 years old, yet it is a reflection of both his ambition and talent that he has taken on the challenge of adapting to and excelling at a different variation of his sport in pursuit of Olympic gold on home soil.
If it wasn’t clear from the innumerable adverts around Paris that Dupont was a face of the Games, then the sight of Emmanuel Macron recently positioning himself next to Dupont during a visit to the athletes’ village for a cool photo op was telling. As Dupont showed once again, there is a reason for all of this hype.
The question after the first day, particularly as Fiji followed up their 40-12 demolition of Uruguay with a similarly convincing 38-12 win against USA, is whether the team as a collective is up to it. Although France have qualified, their match against Fiji on Thursday will be an instructive test.
While Dupont is made for these moments, not everyone is ready for the pressure of playing at home under significant pressure. After the opening draw with USA, Jordan Sepho, who scored France’s first try of the Games, reflected that nervousness. “We let ourselves be carried away a little by the euphoria of the public and the first match, so we had a lot of dropped balls,” he said.
There could certainly be no criticism of the audience’s voice. Not only did they fill out the enormous Stade de France, but they were scathing of the Argentinian team, booing them at every opportunity. While sporting relations between Argentina and France may have already been difficult following their World Cup final, recent videos of the Argentina football team belting out racist chants regarding the origins of black French football players after their Copa América victory seem to have ensured that Argentina will be the villains of the Olympic Games this year.
There remains ample caution from many Parisians; there are frustrations about the dead zone around the river Seine, fears about security and low expectations about how the public transport will handle the next three weeks. Some people have even left the city until this is all over. But at its heart, this is a nation that loves its sport, and on the first day of competition the audience’s passion was truly felt.
After the match, while the rest of the French team showed their appreciation to the crowd, drawing fans to a frenzy by ringing a comically large bell situated on the pitch and then departing centre stage, Dupont’s performance was not yet finished.
He walked down the long line of reporters to the side of the pitch, offering comments in English and French, before finally leaving his stage alone. There is plenty resting on his shoulders, but he has shown many times they are built to handle that weight and much more.
