Rugby Sevens is set to come of age on the Olympic stage when the sport has the honor of kicking off the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in front of a capacity crowd of 69,000 fans at Stade de France on Wednesday
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Captain’s photo call prior to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Olympic Village Plaza on 22 July, 2024 in Paris. Canada Women missing due to later arrival to the Village.[/caption]
- Rugby sevens will kick-off the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on 24 July, two days ahead of the Opening Ceremony
- Men’s competition will take place on 24, 25 and 27 July, with the women’s tournament following on 28-30 July. The men’s final on 27 July will be the first team sport gold medal of the Games
- Australia and Samoa kick off the men’s competition while hosts France begin against the USA and holders Fiji face debutants Uruguay
- Ireland and Great Britain begin the women’s tournament on 28 July, while reigning champions New Zealand play Challenger champions China
- Full house of 69,000 fans expected for every session in Stade de France, which hosted the final of Rugby World Cup 2023
Captains from the 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams gathered at the Olympic Village on Monday ahead of what promises to be the most hotly contested and highly anticipated rugby sevens event in history.
Following rugby sevens’ debut at Rio 2016 and the Covid affected Tokyo 2020 Games, the sport is set to ‘come of age’ on the Olympic stage at its third edition in Paris in front of a record-breaking crowd at the iconic Stade de France.
Rugby Sevens has proven to be one of the highest demand events in the Paris Games with a more than 550,000 fans expected to fill Stade de France across the eight competition sessions, and a worldwide television audience of many millions more.
The men’s competition will take place on 24, 25 and 27 July, when the first team sport gold medal of the Games will be awarded to the men’s rugby sevens champions. The equally highly anticipated women’s tournament follows on 28-30 July.
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Australia and Samoa will have the honor of kicking off the Olympic competition as they take to the field for the first match at 15:30 local time CET (GMT+2) on 24 July. Hosts and recent SVNS Grand Final champions France inspired by global superstar Antoine Dupont will get their campaign under away the USA at 16:30 followed by double Olympic champions Fiji who face debutants Uruguay at 17:00.
Ireland and Great Britain will get play under way in the women’s tournament at 15:30 on 28 July, while reigning champions New Zealand play Challenger champions China and SVNS Grand Final champions Australia kick off against South Africa.
The competition format sees all teams play three pool matches with eight teams qualifying for the quarterfinals in the evening session of the second day of competition, before the third day sees the semi-finals and the all-important medal matches as Olympic dreams are realized and broken.
Rugby sevens is expected to be one of the highlights of Paris 2024, following the resounding success of Rugby World Cup 2023 in France. All the action will take place at Stade de France, which was the venue for the opening match and final of Rugby World Cup 2023.
Fiji have famously won both men’s gold medals to date - Rio being their first ever Olympic medal - but five different nations have won the men’s SVNS Series since 2016, while Argentina were crowned SVNS 2024 league winners and France claimed the inaugural SVNS Grand Final title in Madrid last month, demonstrating the depth of competitiveness.
Australia and New Zealand have lifted the women’s sevens game to new levels, winning one Olympic gold each, while France took silver at Tokyo 2020 and could provide a strong challenge on home soil, along with the likes of the USA and Canada among others.
All six World Rugby regions are represented among the 24 teams who secured their spots in Paris via the HSBC SVNS Series, regional qualification competitions and the World Rugby Sevens Repechage. There are three Olympic debutants with Uruguay and Samoa competing for the first time in the men’s competition while Ireland’s women make their first Olympic appearance.
World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “We anticipate a ‘coming of age’ event as rugby sevens kicks off the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France on Wednesday.
“The Paris Games is the jewel in the crown of the biggest-ever sevens season. The stage is set for what will be a spectacular celebration of our sport at its breathtaking best.
“Over six days of highly competitive and compelling action, the stars of sevens will shine brightly in front of what promises to be a record crowd for Sevens at these ‘Games wide open’, taking our sport, its values and the joy of the Olympic Games to record audiences around the world. Paris is ready. Rugby is ready. Let’s kick these Games off in style!”
Paris 2024 Executive Sports Director Aurelie Merle added: “It is going to be a big day for Rugby Sevens, and it’s also a big day for us at Paris 2024, with the start of competitions in both rugby and football. It is our ‘kick-off’. The stage is set – and what a stage!
“We want to make sure this third appearance of Rugby Sevens at the Olympic Games is an exceptional and high-profile showcase of a thrilling sport and its unique fan culture. With Paris 2024, we are hoping to add another dimension to the famous party culture that Rugby Sevens is known for. It’s a perfect fit with our vision to make these Games a spectacular and popular celebration.”
USA women’s captain, Naya Taper said: “Having so many fans in the stadium is both exciting and somehow scary, at least for me. Tokyo 2020 was great but we didn’t have the fans in the stands cheering or booing for us so I’m getting ready for that stimulation. We have been preparing and are definitely looking forward to begin.
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USA Women's Captain's Naya Tapper, Lauren Doyle, and Men's Captain Kevon Williams at the 2024 Captain's photo shoot.[/caption]
“We are very happy with what we have been able to achieve last season, but we know the past is the past and the present is the present. We are coming here with the learning and the confidence we gained from last season, bringing it to this tournament.
“Bearing in mind we won’t be the only one and nobody will give us an easy game, but we are coming out here to make our friends and family proud and get on that podium with a gold medal, not a silver, not a bronze, but a gold medal.
“It is really inspiring to be playing on such a big platform. It relates to our philosophy that women can be a source of inspiration for anyone watching, young boys and young girls, fans and new publics, being somebody they want to follow behind and strive to be like and trying to be a role model on and off the field.”
