It ended as it began, with a Paris party. A great many twists and turns there may have been over the last few weeks but from the moment France dispatched Wales on the opening night with a performance that blended brains, brawn and beauty, one rather felt like the trophy might end up back on the discotheque dancefloor at the Stade de France on Saturday night.
And so it proved. Hobbling up onto the rostrum to help hoist the trophy alongside Gregory Alldritt, Antoine Dupont forced a smile, the scrum-half sharing in the success despite his cruciate ligament injury. The glitterball prize shimmered under the flashing neon lights, dancing in the arms of the victors as the Eurodance played. After winning Olympic gold last year, Dupont and his sevens teammates broke into a funky routine; if not for a knee in need of reconstruction, perhaps there would have been a reprise.
