China women and South Africa men secured the 12th and final places in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 rugby sevens competitions with victory at the World Rugby Sevens Repechage in Monaco on Sunday.
In the presence of Their Serene Highnesses Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco, there were scenes of euphoria and heartbreak on Olympic Day at Stade Louis II as Olympic dreams were either realised or sadly crushed.
South Africa beat Great Britain 14-5 in a tense men’s final to claim the final men’s qualification spot at the Paris Olympics.
In a game where all the points were scored in the first half, the Blitzboks were resolute in defence, holding out a late Great Britain onslaught to book their place on the plane to Paris.
Canada and Spain missed out after falling at the semi-final stage but Spain finished the weekend with some pride as they won 31-14 to finish third.
China clinched the final women’s spot in Paris as they beat Kenya 24-7 in the final to continue their recent outstanding run of results.
In an unbeaten weekend, China beat Paraguay 31-0 and Poland by 40-7 on finals day on their way to the last dance, with four tries that included a brace from Chen Keyi helping them to victory over Kenya and their 27th win on the bounce this season.
Kenya, who are the only side to have beaten China all season in the HSBC Challenger Series, had edged past both Argentina and Czechia before falling agonisingly short in the final, while Poland ended their weekend on a high as they won bronze with a 33-14 win over Czechia.
South Africa’s Tristan Leyds said: “It’s a pretty special group we have here, just to cherish the moment is what we’re living for. There was a lot of external pressure, the people back home get disappointed (when we don’t perform) but we kept the group tight and it paid off, we qualified for Paris.
“To the people back home, thank you for supporting us and believing in us, we are going to take this energy to Paris.”
“We have some pretty special youngsters in our team, they made us proud this week,” added Rosko Specman. “(The Olympics) is the biggest sporting event in the world. It’s pretty special to play in an Olympics.”
According to 2016 bronze medalist and interim Springbok Sevens coach, Philip Snyman, the successful entry to the Paris Olympics, gained by winning the World Rugby Sevens Repechage in Monaco on Sunday evening, has installed a belief that they have turned a miserable season around.
“We had some bad months, yes, but the comeback is now complete,” Snyman explains.
“We got ourselves into the mess of having to qualifty via repechage but credit to the way the players responded. We came here knowing that defence will be the key to success and only conceded three tries in six matches. The guys deserve a lot of credit for that,” Snyman said.
The coach praised all involved with the lead-up to the event and said the players deserve the applause.
“We were down and out but credit to the guys. They really deserve this and I am very pleased that we will be going to Paris.”
Team captain Selvyn Davids praised his troops and the management for a job well done.
“The guys really wanted this. We came here well prepared, with good confidence and a solid game plan. Credit to all our opponents, especially Great Britain, who really gave us a hard time in that final,” Davids said.
“We knew it would be a tough weekend, but the way we responded to everything our opponents threw at us makes me a very proud Blitzboks captain,” beamed Davids.
China’s brace-scorer Chen Keyi said: “We are feeling really good, we are so excited to go to Paris. I think we deserve it, we work so hard for each other, on and off the field.”
“We are so proud of ourselves; we are so proud of our teammates; and we are so proud of our coaches,” added Liu Xiaoqian.
“(Time for) a holiday for us I think,” added Keyi. “We want to go home and see our parents and friends. See you in Paris!”
Rugby Sevens is proving to be one of the most highly anticipated events of Paris 2024, following the outstanding success of Rugby World Cup 2023 in France, and the sport will have the honour of kicking off the Games in Paris on 24 July, two days ahead of the Opening Ceremony.
The men’s competition takes place from 24-27 July, followed by the women’s tournament on 28-30 July. With the Olympic line-ups now complete the Paris 2024 pools are set to be announced later on Sunday in Monaco.
In the men’s event, hosts France are joined by New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji and Australia who booked their places in Paris by ranking in the top four positions of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023, along with six regional qualification tournament winners in Uruguay (South America), Ireland (Europe), USA (North America), Kenya (Africa), Samoa (Oceania) and Japan (Asia) and the Repechage winners South Africa.
The women’s Olympic competition sees New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and USA as the top four qualifiers through the 2023 World Series, along with hosts France. They have been joined by Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, South Africa, Fiji and Japan as regional qualification tournament winners and they are now joined by Repechage champions China.
Fiji’s men have dominated the Olympic competition to date with double gold medal success on debut at Rio 2016 and again in Tokyo five years later. New Zealand are the reigning women’s Olympic champions and Australia won the inaugural women’s Olympic gold medal in Rio.
The inclusion of rugby sevens for the in the Olympic Games at Rio 2016 had a profound effect on the sport, attracting an estimated 30 million new fans globally.
The Olympics form part of a hugely exciting year for rugby sevens with the reinvigorated HSBC SVNS providing an incredible spectacle with a Series of seven combined men’s and women’s events around the globe leading to a thrilling Grand Final in Madrid where France men and Australia women were crowned the inaugural SVNS champions, while Argentina men and New Zealand women were the League Winners having proved to be the most consistent across the seven regular season rounds.
World Rugby Chief Competitions & Performance Officer Nigel Cass said: “Congratulations to China women and South Africa men on booking their tickets to the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at the end of an intensely competitive and highly entertaining World Rugby Sevens Repechage event in Monaco.
“Our deep thanks and gratitude to Their Serene Highnesses Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco and the Fédération Monégasque de Rugby for such excellent hosting of this important Olympic qualification event for the third time in succession.
“Rugby sevens is set to bring a party atmosphere to the start of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 with a vibrant and passionate crowd alongside the incredible skill, speed and strength on show on the pitch from some of the most impressive athletes in the world.
“The spotlight will be on rugby sevens like never before as our sport will have the honour to kick off the Olympic Games two days ahead of the Opening Ceremony and men’s rugby sevens will be the first team sport gold medal of the Games on 27 July. Like the players, teams and fans, we can’t wait for the Games to begin and see rugby sevens take centre stage in Stade de France.”
With the line-up now complete in the men’s and women’s competitions, the pools at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 have been confirmed for what promises to be a coming-of-age tournament for the sport on the global stage.
The 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams were allocated to three pools of four teams based on their rankings due to performances over the last two years of the HSBC SVNS Series, Challenger Series and other World Rugby-sanctioned tournaments.
All six World Rugby regions are represented among the 24 teams who secured their spots in Paris via the HSBC SVNS Series and regional qualification competitions.
Hosts France and their superstar Antoine Dupont will start their Olympic campaign in Pool C together with two-time Olympic champions Fiji, USA and debutants Uruguay. In front of their home supporters, they will aim to replicate their title-winning performance in Madrid where they lifted the inaugural HSBC SVNS Grand Final title earlier this month.
SVNS league winners Argentina will also face tough competition in Pool B where they will meet Australia, Samoa and Kenya while Pool A sees top seed New Zealand grouped with Ireland, Japan and South Africa.
In the women’s competition, the battle will also be fierce with three very competitive pools. Reigning Olympic Champions and SVNS League Winners New Zealand will be strong contenders and face Fiji, Canada and freshly qualified China in Pool A.
Pool B will also provide fascinating competition with Rio 2016 Olympic and SVNS 2024 Grand Final champions Australia facing Ireland, Great Britain and debutants South Africa.
Hosts France have been placed in Pool C as one of three top ranked teams and will look to improve on their silver medal at Tokyo 2020 with pool matches against the USA, Japan and Brazil.
World Rugby Chairman, Sir Bill Beaumont said: “We are thrilled to unveil the rugby sevens Olympic pools for what promises to be an epic, coming-of-age tournament for our sport in the French capital.
“In one month’s time, our sport will have the honour of kicking-off Paris 2024 in style with an exciting and spectacular brand of rugby that will excite the hundreds of thousands of fans in Stade de France and capture millions more hearts and minds of those watching around the world.
“Rugby sevens is a fantastic engine to grow our sport and on its third Olympic appearance is already proving to be one of the attractions of the Games with record enthusiasm for tickets, mouthwatering rivalries and two strong French national teams hoping to achieve their Olympic dreams on home soil.
“We know from Rugby World Cup 2023 what an amazing rugby show Paris can put on and the Olympic Games will be no different with knowledgeable and passionate fans expected to fill the stadium and create an incredible atmosphere for the players and teams to showcase their unique combination of speed, strength and sensational skills.”
Paris 2024 Sports Executive Director Aurélie Merle added: “On behalf of Paris 2024, I would like to warmly congratulate the two final teams that have qualified for the Olympic Rugby Sevens tournaments. Each tournament will be fiercely competitive, with challenging pools promising a spectacular display.
“Rugby Sevens will have the honour of kicking off the Olympic Games in Paris, with the competition beginning two days before the Opening Ceremony. France is a country passionate about rugby and we will welcome all teams to a refurbished and packed Stade de France of 69 000 seats, where the atmosphere will be electric. With just a few weeks to go, all the conditions are in place for teams to perform at their best on the pitch while having an unforgettable experience.”
The official Quantum Match Ball designed by Gilbert that will be used across the two competitions has been unveiled following the World Rugby Sevens Repechage in Monaco. Developed for the unique style of the sevens game, the Multi Matrix grip offers higher, more defined pimples which increases the ball’s surface area, enhancing the handling and offload skills shown by sevens players.
Inspired by the Paris 2024 brand, the official Gilbert ball design features the Stade de France venue colour system at its core with the famous Olympic Rings, Paris 2024, World Rugby and Gilbert at the centre of each panel.
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