Saturday had raised the wildest hopes. The two women's and men's rugby 7s France teams had qualified with authority for the semi-finals of the Toulouse tournament, stage of the World Sevens Series, and they each dreamed of beating the New Zealand ogre to reach the final in front of their home crowd. A very good omen, it was said, one year before the Olympic Games in Paris.
"We are not afraid of New Zealanders," said Saturday the Parisian Varian Pasquet. He was right, the Blues proved that they did not have much to envy to the Black Sevens even if, once again, they came up against the glass ceiling represented by New Zealand rugby 7s. Everything had started magnificently for Jérôme Daret's men, who led 14-0 very quickly and still 14-12 with 30 seconds to go. The Blacks then went ahead (14-19) but the French had a match ball in stoppage time: las, Paul Leraitre's pass, which would have sent Thibaud Mazzoleni to the winning try, was intercepted by Kiwi Tim Mikkelson, ending the blue dreams in a boiling Ernest-Wallon stadium.
Les Bleues finish fourth
In the small final, the French then got the better of Canada (28-12), with a double from Briviste Aaron Grandidier, to win a deserved bronze medal. It rewards a successful tournament and, more broadly, a solid season with a fourth podium in ten tournaments and a third place in the overall standings before the last stage of the world tour, in a week, in London.
"The disappointment of the half is still there, we have the impression that the scenario of the Hong Kong tournament was repeated (defeat in the semifinals) but we were able to raise our heads, greeted Varian Pasquet at the microphone of Canal + Sport. It's tough, only two hours later, but we knew how to do it and I'm proud of what the guys did. We move up to third overall and we will try to keep this third place in London. »
Wow!
Séraphine Okemba wins the foot race against Portia Woodman-Wickliffe 🔥 #France7s | #HSBC7s | @FranceRugby pic.twitter.com/6EwP0zjQJQ
— World Rugby 7s (@WorldRugby7s) May 14, 2023
On the side of the women's France team, the last day exposed the gap in level that currently separates the Blues from the best nations in the world. Against New Zealand, the French resisted for a long time before cracking at the end of the match (31-7) despite a magnificent try from the rocket Séraphine Okemba. They also constantly stumble against the Blacks, who had already beaten them in the final of the last Olympic Games in Tokyo. In the small final, Caroline Drouin's teammates also folded against Australia (33-7).