The perfect within the enterprise, listed here are seven gamers to observe on the Olympic Recreation Paris 2024 rugby sevens, beginning on Wednesday twenty fourth July.
The Olympic Video games Paris 2024 will formally start on Friday twenty sixth July with the opening ceremony on the River Seine. Nonetheless, on Wednesday twenty fourth July, the primary occasion will kick off – the rugby sevens.
The boys’s and ladies’s competitors will happen within the Stade de France from Wednesday twenty fourth to Tuesday thirtieth earlier than being remodeled for the athletics later within the Video games.
24 crew, 12 males’s and 12 ladies’s, will compete for gold with the boys’s competitors being the primary medals awarded at Paris 2024. This would be the third Video games to function rugby sevens with the game having debuted at Rio 2016.
Fiji are the present defending champions of the boys’s occasion, having retained their title from Rio at Tokyo 2020. For the ladies, New Zealand are present gold medalists with Australia having gained the inaugural title at Rio 2016.
Associated: Who’re favourites for the Olympics Video games rugby sevens at Paris 2024
Paris 2024 Olympics Video games: Rugby Sevens
For the Paris 2024 Olympic Video games, house aspect France enter as males’s favourites due to successful the current HSBC SVNS Grand Last in Madrid. They are going to face powerful competitors from Argentina, who gained three consecutive legs of the HSBC SVNS sequence, and Fiji who’ve an ideal report on the Olympic Video games thus far.
Within the ladies’s competitors, all indicators level in the direction of a shootout between New Zealand and Australia though Eire, France and the USA will fancy their probabilities at taking house a medal and doubtlessly sneaking right into a remaining.
Associated: Find out how to watch the Olympics Rugby Sevens dwell
As is the case every time he performs, all eyes will likely be on Toulouse and France star scrum-half Antoine Dupont to carry house a house gold within the males’s competitors and light-weight up the competitors nonetheless the raft of expertise dwelling throughout the Sevens system is huge, with a number of the greatest athletes in rugby set to take centre stage over the subsequent week.
With that, we’ve taken a have a look at seven celebrity gamers you must being making a be aware to observe on the Olympic Video games Paris 2024…
Seven rugby gamers to observe on the Olympic Video games Paris 2024 rugby sevens
1. Maddison Levi, Australia
The deadliest try-scorer in all of rugby, no matter format or code. Australia’s Maddison Levi is a phenomenon and must be a family title for all rugby followers.
This season she scored a record-breaking 65 tries on the HSBC SVNS circuit, a report she had set herself simply the season earlier than. Tall, highly effective, quick, Levi will usually pop up on the top of a 3rd or fourth section, making the most of stretched, drained defences. As soon as she will get via a half hole, seldom is she ever caught.
Solely 22-years-old, there’s little doubt that this try-scoring flood will proceed so if you wish to watch tries in Paris, be certain that to tune in for Levi.
2. Terry Kennedy, Eire
Eire’s Terry Kennedy might be one of many smartest rugby sevens gamers on the earth. He isn’t the quickest or strongest, nor does he have a killer sidestep that may beat any defender.
As a substitute, Kennedy depends off of pitch good recreation administration and studying, making certain he pops up in the precise place at virtually each event. It’s what result in hime being HSBC SVNS prime attempt scorer this season and a earlier World Rugby World Sevens Participant of the 12 months.
The conductor of a strong crew that always proves extremely powerful to beat, Kennedy will likely be hoping to outwit the opposition and steer Eire into medal competition.
3. Ilona Maher, USA
Utter field workplace on and off the pitch, when Ilona Maher is on the sphere, the sport is commonly orbiting round her affect.
In each assault and defence, Maher is thought for monster hits that may shift your entire momentum of a recreation. Her fellow teammates feed off of her capacity to attract a number of defenders into contact whereas her aggressive defence wins turnovers.
The USA are certainly one of a number of ladies’s crew behind New Zealand and Australia who will likely be hoping to take house a medal and if they’re, you’d assume Maher will likely be a terrific affect on that taking place.
4. Marcos Moneta, Argentina
A former World Rugby Sevens Gamers of the 12 months, Marcos Moneta is one piece of the Argentinian rugby sevens puzzle that lit up the HSBC SVNS sequence this yr. Three legs in a row, the Argentinians appeared an unstoppable pressure at occasions.
Moneta is Argentina’s hazard man, drifting across the exterior edges and wing, capitalising on defensive errors together with his electrifying tempo. Typically, when the sport seems useless, up pops Moneta with a half break that injects the sport again into life.
Even be on the look out for the present World Rugby Participant of the 12 months Rodrigo Isgro – ought to he keep away from suspension – and Lucho Gonzalez, the one they name the Nightmare Puma – each fan favourites.
5. Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, New Zealand
One among, if the best to ever do it, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe is a legend of not solely New Zealand rugby however world rugby.
A cross-format star is a present Olympic gold medalist, has gained the 15s Rugby World Cup and 7s Rugby World Cup twice, is prime attempt scorer in each competitions and has a report 256 tries in Sevens sequence historical past too. For deadliest finisher in SVNS, it’s a straight shootout between Woodman-Wickliffe and Levi.
Woodman-Wickliffe introduced she will likely be retiring after these Video games so anticipate her to do all she probably can to exit on a excessive.
6. Rosko Specman, South Africa
Image your archetypal sevens participant and you’ll most likely get any individual like South Africa’s Rosko Specman. Deft palms, unbelievable acceleration and the power to sidestep an opponent in a cellphone field.
Now 35, you’d assume Specman’s greatest days have been previous him but his return the the Blitzbok sevens fold in 2024 contributed to South Africa’s win in Dubai and their Olympic qualification via the repechage final month.
In case you take pleasure in enjoyable rugby, watch the person they name Specmagic in Paris this summer season.
7. Megan Jones, Workforce GB
For Workforce GB followers, hopes of a medal will likely be held by the ladies’s crew in Paris after the boys’s aspect didn’t qualify ultimately month’s repechage, dropping to South Africa.
Just like the USA, Eire and France, Workforce GB ladies’s aspect will likely be among the many outsiders hoping to tackle Australia and New Zealand for the medals. The aspect has been bolstered by the return of Ellie Kildunne, contemporary from Six Nations domination, and Meg Jones.
Jones is a unbelievable ballplayer who, heading to her third Olympic video games, will likely be hopeful of lastly bagging a medal.
Which rugby gamers are you trying ahead to watching on the Olympic Video games Paris 2024 rugby sevens?
Obtain the digital version of Rugby World straight to your pill or subscribe to the print version to get the journal delivered to your door.