The 2024 Paris Olympic Games begins this week, with Rugby Sevens amongst the first sports to take centre stage in the French capital. The relentless pace of sevens rugby is to be admired, when the 12 best men’s and women’s teams come together for a shot at gold medal glory.
The men’s tournament commences this Wednesday 24th July, before the women’s competition kick’s off on Sunday 28th. There are plenty of top talents occupying the three groups, with Pools A, B and C brimming with Parisian star power. We have focussed our scope down upon five top players, who are set to light up the sevens stage this Summer, along with a handful of honourable mentions sprinkled in.
Fiji are the reigning champions of the men’s rugby sevens event, whilst New Zealand took home the gold from the women’s tournament in Tokyo 2021. Team GB and the Republic of Ireland have only qualified for the women’s tournament in the upcoming games, with the standard of competition better than ever as the revamped HSBC SVNS series took the sport by storm this season. Here is a run down of five top players to keep an eye out for, across both the men’s and women’s Olympic rugby sevens tournaments.
Antoine Dupont (France)
We commence this list of top Olympic talents, with one of the best known names across World Rugby. France’s resident magician Antoine Dupont has his eyes on Parisian glory, after the scrum half was unable to lead his side to the winners medals at the Rugby World Cup. The captain of Les Bleus, Dupont is widely regarded amongst the best players of the international 15s game, and he has seamlessly transitioned his abilities to the sevens stage.
The 2021 World Rugby Men’s Player of the Year marked his France Sevens debut in Vancouver, as the HSBC SVNS series commenced upon its Canadian leg. Dupont then led the charge as France claimed their first sevens title in 19 years, as Les Blues took home the trophy from Carson, California. France ended the 2023/24 HSBC SVNS season as overall men’s champions, as Dupont helped his side towards a 19-5 win over Argentina in final’s week, hosted in Madrid.
The Stade Toulousain halfback has been dropping in and out of his club commitments throughout the season, as preparations heated up across the high octane HSBC SVNS circuit. Dupont was unable to play for Fabien Galthie’s XV throughout the 2024 Guinness Six Nations, but did make a cameo appearence in his club’s royal red, to lead Toulouse to their record-breaking sixth Champions Cup title.
Michael Hooper (Australia)
A legend of rugby union in Australia, Michael Hooper is pursuing one last conquest as he approaches the twilight of his international career. The immortal back-row was left out of the 2023 Rugby World Cup Wallabies squad by former head coach Eddie Jones, who implied that a calf injury kept the flanker from performing at his best. Missing out on the World Cup in France has only further spurred Hooper on, to ensure that he comes home from Paris as an Olympic gold medallist.
Hooper began his professional career with the Brumbies in 2010, and the back-row was promptly revered across the competition for his brutal tackling, fearsome work rate, and technical ability over the breakdown. Hooper marked his Rugby Sevens debut in his trademark fashion, as just moments into his first cap for the Wallabies Sevens, he stole a turnover at the breakdown against Fiji.
Having made over 120 caps for the Wallabies in the 15-a-side version of the sport, Hooper is a household name across Australia and a former captain of the national team. The back-row first took up the armband in a full-time capacity back in 2017, after Stephen Moore hung up his boots for retirement. Hooper’s reign at the helm of the side lasted until his omission from the Rugby World Cup squad, as the 32-year-old now embarks on a new challenge with his country.