Olympic Sevens: Five quarterfinal takeaways
07/26/2024 05:45 AM
SPOTLIGHT: Antoine Dupont helped France to a semifinal showdown against South Africa on Saturday, while Fiji survived an Irish scare to set up a last-four match-up against Australia in the Olympic Sevens tournament.
AFP Sport looks at five takeaways from Thursday's high-octane quarterfinals going into the semis, with no play on Friday because of the opening ceremony of the Paris Games.
Fiji: room for improvement
At the end of a hard-hitting quarterfinal, Fiji won 19-15 over Ireland, the players from both teams were left scattered around the pitch in sheer exhaustion.
Fiji, who have never lost an Olympic Sevens match, are the two-time defending champions, but were made to put in an enormous round of defensive sets against an Irish side for whom playmaker Terry Kennedy shone once again.
A Waisea Nacuqu try two minutes from time sealed the win for the misfiring South Sea Islanders.
New coach Osea Kolinisau, who captained Fiji to gold when sevens made its Olympic debut in Rio, will no doubt have some ideas about how his side can improve for their semifinal against Australia.
Australian dark horses
Australia topped their pool B with wins over Samoa, Kenya and Argentina.
They ran out 18-0 victors over the United States in their quarter, never looking like conceding any points to the toothless Americans.
The Wallabies' tight pressing game and strong defence will prove a real test for Fiji.
Unpopular Argentina
Los Pumas were roundly booed and whistled at each of their games at the Stade de France.
The country's football team were also given a hostile reception in their opening match against Morocco on Wednesday after a recent racism scandal following their senior side's Copa America triumph.
FIFA has announced an investigation into the chants sung by Argentina players after they won the Copa America with a 1-0 final victory over Colombia.
The Argentinian rugby players have been left bemused by their reception, insisting they play a different sport.
"If the crowd is with us, it is very motivating, but when they are against us, as we could see they are here, it is also something to enjoy," said Gaston Revol.
