Rugby sevens started the Olympic Video games Paris 2024 with an outstanding first day at Stade de France on Wednesday.
The occasion attracted a file single-day crowd for rugby sevens, with 69,000 followers in attendance and thousands and thousands extra watching globally.
Over 500,000 tickets have been bought for the lads’s and ladies’s Sevens throughout the week, with the shortened rugby code one of many largest promoting occasions on the 2024 Olympic Video games.
SVNS league winners Argentina, Australia, Eire, New Zealand, and double Olympic champions Fiji every secured locations in Thursday’s quarter-finals with two victories on the opening day.
France’s Antoine Dupont scored a vital attempt, serving to the host staff safe a win towards Uruguay after an earlier draw with the USA.
“The environment was good and helped us to win. Possibly we didn’t do our greatest however hopefully it’s going to assist us extra within the subsequent sport,” stated Dupont. “There have been too many technical and tactical errors however we have now to have hope. It’s good to see that our mindset was good throughout the staff. The necessities are there.
“We have to increase our degree. If not, we is not going to go too far. We have to be centered on the sport and never distracted as a result of we’re able to higher. Within the final minutes we confirmed our mindset is robust.”
Paris 2024 Organising Committee President Tony Estanguet and New Zealand’s Rugby World Cup winner Dan Carter had been amongst a number of well-known faces current at Stade de France to witness the beginning of the sporting motion at these Olympic Video games.
The Irish – who bagged two wins from two towards South Africa and Japan – had been additionally impressed with the assist.
“It’s a extremely encouraging opening day for us and it’s job finished by way of two wins from two. It’s all about an enormous Pool sport towards New Zealand tomorrow afternoon as we need to progress by way of as winners and provides ourselves the very best draw within the knockout phases,” stated Eire’s Harry McNulty. “We’ve got had unimaginable assist in Paris immediately and it has been electrical taking part in in entrance of this crowd, so we’re excited to come back again tomorrow to lift our sport and hopefully progress by way of the competitors.”
World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin stated he believes Sevens will come age on the Paris Video games. “Following rugby sevens’ debut at Rio 2016 and the Covid affected Tokyo Video games, we firmly consider the game will ‘come of age’ on the Olympic Stage at its third version right here in Paris – our largest and finest Olympics but,” stated Gilpin.
“Sevens has confirmed to be one of many highest demand occasions within the Paris Video games with greater than 550,000 followers anticipated to fill Stade de France throughout the eight competitors periods.
“Being on sport’s largest stage has been transformational for Rugby, significantly in rising rugby nations and groups from all areas at the moment are competing for Sevens titles demonstrating the worldwide progress of the sport.
“Paris 2024 presents a golden alternative to develop our share of the Olympic viewers globally, there has by no means been a better highlight on the game and with the lads’s ultimate on 27 July seeing the primary staff sport gold medal of the Video games awarded, some magical moments await.”