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Antoine Dupont's France stumble as Fiji, NZ and Ireland start Olympic sevens well
By Josh Raisey
Antoine Dupont's pursuit of a gold medal got off to a solid but imperfect start on day one of the Olympic sevens, as his France side drew with the United States 12-12, meaning they were not one of the five teams that started the competition with two wins from two.
Pool A saw New Zealand and Ireland emerge as the dominant forces, with the All Blacks Sevens defeating South Africa 17-5 and overpowering Japan 40-12. Ireland also demonstrated their strength, securing a massive 40-5 win over Japan and a narrower 10-5 victory over the Blitzbokke.
With two victories each on day one, New Zealand and Ireland sit at the top of pool A with six points apiece. They will go head-to-head on day two to see who wins the pool.
HSBC SVNS Series league winners Argentina and Australia also showed their gold medal-winning credentials on day one. Los Pumas beat Samoa 28-12 and later secured a convincing 31-12 win over Kenya. Australia's matches were slightly less comfortable, as they defeated Kenya 21-7 and edged out Samoa in a tighter contest, winning 21-14.
Similarly to pool A, Argentina and Australia are both level on points at the top of pool B, and will also do battle tomorrow to see who will be crowned pool winners.
In Pool C, 2016 and 2020 gold medal winners Fiji staked their claim for a third straight title win despite a turbulent year. They demolished the United States 38-12 and Uruguay 40-12. Hosts France, meanwhile, started with a narrow victory over Uruguay 19-12 before drawing with the USA.
Fiji have opened a narrow lead at the top of pool B with their two victories, one head of France who they face tomorrow in the final match of pool B. The winner of that match will win the pool, but a loss for Dupont and co, combined with a US win over Uruguay, could see France finish third in their group.
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Funny that I read this after watching last night's game where Matera packed down at openside every signle time. Jaguares also used to play with OS/BS flankers when he was with them. Of course, if he's at 8 or not involved, Pumas could do it the French way and put, let's say, Kremer on the right and Golzalez on the left. You're correct about Matera's tenure at Crusaders where he was mainly used at blindside but also at #8 on occasion as far as I remember. He has the frame and skillset to play whichever back row position he's put at, much like Ardie or Jack Willis or Pocock.
Go to commentsDoesn't sound like FJ is doing anything of the sort to be fair. When your head coach says he's not spoken to him but claims he's doing work in the background... That work must be really productive if the coaches aren't bothering to look at it.
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