As Paris welcomed the world to its grand sporting event, the iconic Notre-Dame Cathedral struck a victorious note, signaling the unofficial start of the games.
Although still under restoration after the devastating 2019 fire, one of Notre-Dame’s bells found a temporary home behind the rugby posts at the Sevens.
On Wednesday night, Jefferson-Lee Joseph, a teammate of France’s star scrum-half Antoine Dupont, had the honor of ringing the bell to celebrate France’s opening match against Uruguay.
This game, a prelude to Friday’s grand opening ceremony, set the stage for a thrilling Olympic campaign and proved to be a smashing success.
Fans and Expectations
The stadium was alive with the chants of ‘Allez les Bleus’ from enthusiastic locals, waving homemade banners in support of their favorite player, Dupont.
Despite his usual role as a game-changer from the bench, Dupont started this match, bringing his big-game experience to the forefront.
A Tense Start
Facing a packed crowd of 69,000, which included dignitaries like Dan Carter and the Fijian prime minister, the French team initially showed signs of nerves.
Their opening match against the USA ended in a draw, with the American team fresh from lunch with rapper Snoop Dogg.
Dupont made his mark with impressive attacking offloads and a crucial cover tackle, but France’s handling errors allowed the USA to level the score with a late try from Macrus Tupuola.
Looking Ahead
With the top two teams from each group and the two best runners-up advancing, the draw wasn’t a catastrophe.
France had a few hours to regroup as New Zealand and Fiji showcased their strengths, proving themselves as gold medal contenders.
A Narrow Victory
In their evening match against Uruguay, France managed a narrow victory in a surprisingly close contest.
Dupont stood out with one of the day’s best tries, powering through two defenders to score.
The crowd cheered as he left the field, watching from the sidelines as his teammates secured the much-needed win.
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