AS THE IRELAND women prepare for their Olympic opener against Great Britain on Sunday afternoon, the Ireland men signed off with a sixth-place finish on Saturday.

Thanks to TritonLake – the proud title sponsor of the Ireland Sevens teams – The 42 will be keeping you up to speed on both Olympic tournaments.

With the men’s Sevens now finished after a gripping day in Paris, the attention turns to the women tomorrow. Here’s the story so far from the Olympic Sevens competition.

How have Ireland been doing?

After the bitter disappointment of missing out on a medal, the men’s team were back in action on Saturday as they took on fellow beaten quarter-finalists USA in a 5th-to-8th placing match.

Ireland made a bright start at the Stade de France, Hugo Lennox scoring as Ireland attacked straight from the kick-off.

James Topping’s men then needed some big defensive plays – including a huge turnover from captain Harry McNulty – to keep the USA out, but their resistance was eventually broken when Aaron Cummings crossed, his converted score leaving the sides level 7-7 at the break.

After the restart, Ireland fell behind as Perry Baker broke a Zac Ward tackle to score, but Ward made amends by crossing from a well-worked five-metre lineout play. Mark Roche’s conversion attempt was off target, leaving Ireland with work to do heading into the final stages.

Needing something special, Terry Kennedy stepped up and produced a moment of magic with the final play of the game, selling a clever dummy to break through a tight gap and race over the line.

The win saw Ireland progress to a 5th/6th place play-off meeting with New Zealand, where James Topping’s men ran out of steam.

New Zealand took an early lead through Leroy Carter and as Ireland tried to find a reponse, they were met with a stubborn defensive effort from New Zealand. 

However Ireland finally found a way through approaching half time – Chay Mullins scoring before Mark Roche’s conversion pushed Ireland into a 7-5 lead.

Less than a minute into the second half, New Zealand were back in front thanks to Brady Rush, and Moses Leo wrapped up the victory by finishing another fine team move, Ireland’s challenge fading as they settled for a sixth-place finish. 

Now the attention turns to the Ireland women, who kick-off their campaign against Great Britain on Sunday (2.30pm Irish time).

Results

Men’s placing 5-8:
New Zealand 17-12 Argentina
Ireland 17-14 United States

Men’s placing 11-12:
Japan 10-21 Uruguay

Men’s placing 9-10:
Samoa 5-10 Kenya

Men’s placing 7-8:
Argentina 19-0 United States

Men’s placing 5-6:
New Zealand 17-7 Ireland

Men’s semi-finals:
South Africa 5 France 19
Fiji 31 Australia 7

Men’s bronze medal match:
South Africa 26-19 Australia 

Men’s final:
France 28-7 Fiji

The Big Stories

Antoine Dupont has been the story of the men’s Sevens in Paris and on Saturday, the locals got what they wanted as the biggest name in world rugby took to the pitch for an Olympic final on home soil. What followed verged on the ridiculous.

Dupont started the decider against Fiji on the bench, and was introduced for the second half with the scores locked at 7-7.

Within seconds, the Toulouse superstar had lit up the Stade de France, tearing down the wing with his first touch and beating a defender before playing a clever pass inside for Aaron Grandidier to score.

ZEONFOZIFNOEAZ L'ÉQUIPE DE FRANCE PREND L'AVANTAGE DANS CETTE FINALE (14-7) 💥

Suivez l'intégralité des Jeux de #Paris2024 sur Eurosport via Max pic.twitter.com/ur1NpSszjt

— Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) July 27, 2024

With a little over 90 seconds left, he did it again – this time taking a quick-tap penalty to score through two Fiji defenders and put France on the cusp of Olympic glory. 

By now it was the Dupont show, and the great man capped an incredible day by scoring again with the last play of the game – France claiming gold on a 28-7 scoreline.

To put that achievement into some context, this was Fiji’s first defeat in Olympic men’s Sevens, having won gold at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021. Yet they’d never faced a force like Dupont before. Having recently won a Top 14 and Champions Cup double with Toulouse, France’s golden boy continues to amaze.

Ireland’s Best Try

While it was ultimately a disappointing week for Ireland, there were still some strong performances along the way and as usual, Terry Kennedy brought his magic to proceedings.

Kennedy has been a leading figure in this Ireland team for years and added some real moments of class in Paris, with his fine score against the USA a perfect example of his qualities.

With Ireland pushing for a match-winner, Kennedy broke forward and produced a smart dummy before squeezing through two defenders to score, and send Ireland through to a fifth-sixth place play-off against New Zealand.

Standout Individual Performance

It’s hard to look past Dupont really, and these Games will be remembered for his match-winning performance in today’s final. Yet the 27-year-old wasn’t the only player to shine on a brilliant day of Sevens rugby in Saint-Denis. 

Selvyn Davids had a big Olympics for South Africa and the captain led by example again today as the Blitzboks beat Australia in the bronze final.

Davids scored a wonderful chip-and-chase in the first half and then set-up the match-winning try to cap a fine Olympics for the South Africa men’s team.

The 30-year-old was one of the top performers across the week as South Africa powered to a brilliant third-place finish – the Blitzboks only qualified for the Games last month after winning the final repechage slot.

Sunday’s Fixtures