SAINT-DENIS, France — In a seven-minute clinic, Antoine Dupont scored two tries and created another to deliver a coveted gold medal for France on Saturday and end two-time champion Fiji’s Olympic dominance in rugby sevens.
The world’s best rugby player was saved for the second half in a tactical ploy that worked to perfection when he swung momentum with his first touch of the ball and then guided France to an emphatic 28-7 victory.
The mercurial playmaker skipped the Six Nations tournament and switched his attention from the traditional 15s format to rugby sevens for his once-in-a-lifetime chance to win an Olympic gold medal on home soil.
He can go back to the French XV as an Olympic champion, at least partly erasing the pain of his Rugby World Cup disappointment on home soil last year.
The French men didn’t qualify for the previous Olympics in Tokyo, but can proudly boast France’s first gold of the Paris Games. Fiji had never lost a rugby sevens game at the Olympics, taking a 17-game winning streak into the title decider.
A contest between Dupont and Jerry Tuwai, the two-time Olympic gold medalist and rugby sevens player of the decade, was pivotal in change of French fortunes.
PHOTOS: Dupont leads France to a gold medal in Olympic rugby sevens, ending Fiji's dominance
The defending champion Fijians scored first but when Dupont went onto the field just after halftime it was 7-7.
Dupont started the second half by running down the left sideline from inside his own quarter and deep into Fiji’s, beating Tuwai’s attempted tackle as he unloaded a pass to Aaron Grandidier Nkanang to give France a 14-7 lead.
Dupont’s two tries at the end were the icing for the 69,000 capacity crowd, as chants of “Allex les Bleus” echoed around the national stadium.
France’s win captured the attention of the host nation, where rugby has long been a source of pride but also some hurt - the French have never won the Rugby World Cup in the 15-a-side format, the pinnacle event in the sport.
Rugby sevens usually takes a backseat to 15s among the sport’s elite - until it comes to the Olympics, when the almost non-stop attacking nature of the game and the booming music lend a party vibe to the tournaments.
Dupont described the ambience as “electric” during the semifinals and it lit up more for the final. The celebrations weren’t contained to the Stade de France, with fans watching tennis stars Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz compete together in doubles at Court Philippe Chatrier in Roland Garros rising to applaud and yell and wave their French flags, then breaking into a song of “Allez, Les Bleus!”
And it did keep going. The French sevens squad collected their gold medals atop the podium, then joined together and danced in the middle of the field.
South Africa won the bronze medal despite conceding two late tries in the third-place match, with Shaun Williams making the most of an overlap in the last moments to beat Australia 26-19.
The South Africans, who also won the bronze at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016, had a one-man advantage after Australian captain Nick Malouf received a red card early in the second half for a high tackle. The Australians rallied with two tries in the last three minutes to tie the game but weren’t able to hang on and send the game to extra time.
New Zealand beat Ireland 17-7 for fifth place and Argentina beat the U.S. men 19-0 in the seventh-place playoff.
The tournament started with great expectations for the French squad, but it didn’t go according to plan on the opening day Wednesday - two days before the official opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
The home team opened with a surprising 12-12 draw against the U.S., struggled against Uruguay and then lost 19-12 to Fiji in the group stage. That was followed by a gritty win over Argentina in the quarterfinals and a 19-5 comeback win over South Africa in the semifinals.
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