With a celebratory chime from Notre-Dame Cathedral’s bell, the games unofficially kicked off.
Paris’s historic church, still being restored from the 2019 fire, temporarily housed one of its bells behind the rugby posts at the Sevens.
On Wednesday night, Jefferson-Lee Joseph, Antoine Dupont’s teammate, had the honor of ringing it, marking France’s win over Uruguay and launching their Olympic journey.
This match, held before Friday’s grand opening ceremony, set the tone for a successful start to the event.
Fans gathered in droves, cheering “Allez les Bleus” and waving homemade banners dedicated to their star scrum-half, Dupont.
Although he’s often been a game-changer coming off the bench in his Sevens career, here he was thrust into the starting lineup, tasked with leveraging his big-game experience.
The French team, facing a packed crowd of 69,000 that included everyone from Dan Carter to the Fijian Prime Minister, appeared a bit anxious.
Their opening match ended in a draw against the USA, who had just come from a lunch with American rapper Snoop Dogg.
Dupont’s Brilliance
Despite the nerves, Dupont showcased his skill with impressive attacking offloads and a crucial cover tackle that prevented a try.
The game ended in a 12-12 tie, thanks to a late try from American Macrus Tupuola, following some French handling errors.
The result wasn’t catastrophic, with the top two teams from each group and the two best runners-up progressing to the next stage.
France had time to regroup as New Zealand and Fiji demonstrated their prowess with strong performances.
A Surprising Twist
In a quirky twist, some fans were surprised to find no alcoholic beverages available at the stadium bars, only 0% beer at £7 a pint—a fact that caught many off guard.
France’s Narrow Victory
In their evening match against Uruguay, France secured a hard-fought victory.
Dupont delivered one of the standout moments of the day, powering through two defenders to score a spectacular try.
The crowd erupted in cheers as he left the field, watching as his teammates held on for a crucial win.
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