The audience rose to their feet to sing Johnny Hallyday’s Que je t’aime. They sang it for Antoine Dupont and they wanted to sing it all night long. The French already loved their humble superstar, but after this feat of sporting greatness, they will love him for the rest of his days.
Almost single-handedly, Dupont gave Paris its poster child. The first gold medal of the first Olympic Games in 100 years. The hopes of a nation rested on the shoulders of their boy from the Midi-Pyrenees and he gave a show of dominance that places him among the greatest rugby players of all time.
He won this competition just like Ian Botham for England at Headingley in 1981, or Diego Maradona for Argentina at the 1986 World Cup. Dupont at Paris 2024 will be remembered alongside Kathy Freeman at Sydney 2000, Jess Ennis at London 2012 and Neymar at Rio 2016.
The score was tied at 7-7 when he came off the bench at half-time and his impact was astonishing. Iconic from the first touch. Two tries, one assist, the game of a lifetime. ‘I don’t have enough English words to describe it,’ he said. ‘It’s sensational. It’s unbelievable.’
Emmanuel Macron knew this was the hottest ticket in town. Moments after France booked their place in the final, the French president’s security detail arrived to search the Stade de France. He joined Prince Albert and Princess Anne. Sports diplomacy at its finest.
Antoine Dupont (pictured) led France to their first gold medal at the 2024 Olympics
The French men’s rugby sevens team defeated Fiji 28-7 in front of a jubilant home crowd at the Stade de France on Saturday night
Dupont came on at half-time and spurred his team on by setting up a try before scoring himself.
During an Olympic Games marked by deceit and abuse, this was sport through its purest and most joyful lens.
After the final whistle, the French players gathered in the middle of the pitch and danced to Will Smith’s Miami. They have worked with a cabaret dancer – and the cast of the Moulin Rouge – in the run-up to this competition, and it was a nod to her.
I sat next to Britain’s great Olympian Daley Thompson in the media gallery. He too was stunned. ‘Wow,’ he said, as Dupont orchestrated a magnificent second half. ‘This is the best there is.’
No alcohol is sold at these games but the crowd was drunk. It was as loud as any XVs game ever played on this ground. An occasion that will be all the sweeter for Dupont after he endured the darkest night of his career here in the World Cup quarter-final last year.
Jefferson-Lee Joseph (pictured) scored in the first half to draw France level with Fiji after an early strike from Rayan Rebbadj
The Toulouse scrum half (pictured) made an astonishing 70-metre run from his own half before laying the ball off to Aaron Grandidier, who brought it down to put France ahead
With both teams level, Grandidier’s (right) try would prove decisive for France to take the lead
Dupont would collapse again shortly afterwards, with fans in the stadium marvelling at his brilliance
Of the French squad, only Dupont had experienced this kind of noise. They gambled by benching him, but that has been their strategy throughout this competition. There is less emphasis on starting teams in Sevens and Dupont is most effective in the closing stages, when the opposition is tired and defenders can’t cope with his bullish power.
The trade-off was that he sacrificed his big-game mentality early on. So when Fiji took the lead through Rayan Rebbadj within two minutes, Macron and everyone in the stadium shuffled nervously.
This final meant so much to both countries. England coach Ben Ryan is still on Fiji’s banknotes after leading them to gold in 2016. Most of their players grew up in poverty and he learned how to deal with issues among the players, such as religious swearing and dental problems caused by excessive sugar.
Fijian Sevens players are among the most talented rugby players in the world, so the relief when France drew through Jefferson-Lee Joseph was palpable. Fiji’s biggest weapon in the early rounds had been their ability to jump the highest to steal restarts, but the French had their number.
Having failed to qualify for Tokyo 2020, the French team celebrated wildly on the podium, as France also won the HSBC SVNS Series this season
Dupont (left) also posed next to a smiling French President Emmanuel Macron (second from left) and Fiji President Ratu Wiliame Maivalili Katonivere (first from right).
Dupont was brought off the bench at half-time for the equivalent of the Bomb Squad’s move for France. When he gets the ball in his hands, it’s like David Beckham in all his pomp lining up a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area. Everyone expected, hoped and prayed for something spectacular to happen.
And so it happened. Just 20 seconds after his introduction he got the ball in his hands for the first time. He was 70 metres out from the Fijian try-line but he backed himself. There are wide open spaces in the game of Sevens and he charged down the left flank like a baby bull. Power, speed, power, skill. He finished it off with a hitch-kick and an offload that earned a try for Aaron Grandidier.
This was Dupont’s podium. With 90 seconds to go, after a tap-and-go, he was set for a try. He was the smallest man on the pitch, but the most influential across the length of the River Seine.
The clock is ticking fast in Sevens. Victory was France’s, but in the dying seconds he came back, scoring from the back of a drive from his own lineout. From under a pile of bodies he emerged at the final whistle with a golden smile. The rest of France smiled with him.
