Dupont inspires France’s first Paris 2024 gold

Superstar scrum-half Antoine Dupont delivered in mesmerising style as he came off the bench to lead France to their first gold of the Paris Olympics.

Dupont, a poster boy of the Games, set up a try and scored two himself to inspire the hosts to a stunning 28-7 win over Fiji in the men’s rugby sevens final.

“It is sensational. It is unbelievable. It is a big reward for us,” Dupont said.

“It is huge. We worked a lot for a lot of months and a lot of years – in some players’ case – for this moment.”

The match was tied 7-7 at half-time when the inspirational Dupont, who decided to skip the Six Nations to focus on the sevens, came on to the field to a huge ovation.

Within 21 seconds, he had scampered down the left flank and found British-born Aaron Grandidier on hand to finish off the move.

From that point, France grew in confidence and never looked like being beaten.

Dupont added two more tries – including one after the final hooter – to spark jubilant scenes.

French President Emmanuel Macron celebrated in the stands as the players and almost 70,000 spectators sang and danced in triumph.

The majority of the crowd remained standing for the next hour, going through a repertoire of songs including a rousing rendition of national anthem La Marseillaise, before applauding each of the victorious home players as the gold medals were put around their necks.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man.

Dupont is a titan in the 15-a-side ranks, captain of his country and voted 2021 World Player of the Year.

So when he switched to the sevens format it was a huge story and a decision that led to forensic analysis in France.

The 27-year-old decided to skip the Six Nations earlier this year to prioritise his nation’s bid for seven-a-side gold glory on home soil.

After an initially frosty response, that decision eventually further endeared Dupont to the French public – and it has resulted in Les Bleus landing glory on the first full day of the Games.

France’s biggest sports newspaper, L’Equipe, lauded him across Wednesday’s front pages, before an idolising Stade de France crowd regularly chanted his name when the tournament began.

In the build-up to the gold medal match, you could spot fans wearing Dupont masks as they milled about outside the stadium.

Every time his face appeared on the big screen inside, when the players strode out and prepared during the warm-up, the level of noise went up a notch to ear-splitting levels.

When Dupont darted out at the start of the second half, expectation rose.

Then he showed why he is one of the greats. Like all generational talents, he delivered on the biggest stage.

He came on, took the game by the scruff of the neck, and delivered the gold medal which France craved.

Afterwards, Dupont was asked how he coped with being hailed by some as the best player of all time after adding sevens glory to his 15s success.

“It is always a pleasure to hear words like that – but honestly I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about that,” he said.

“I am still young and have a lot of work still to do.”

As you walked around the Stade de France before the gold medal match, the carnival atmosphere was obvious.

Home fans in the blue, white and red of the Tricolore – many in fancy dress, comedy wigs and face paint – made merry as they counted down to the main event which they dreamed would lead to French glory.

But when you actually spoke to a few away from the fun, it was clear there was a sense of concern.

France might not win. In fact, they probably wouldn’t – so many thought.

That was because France were the underdogs against two-time defending champions Fiji, who had never previously lost an Olympic men’s sevens game.

South Africa beat Australia 26-19 to take the bronze medal, and then the test of French resolve arrived.

Those fears of worried home supporters seemed to be justified when the Pacific Islanders threatened to spoil the party as Joseva Talacolo went over inside two minutes.

But belief among the French players remained.

Before half-time they were level thanks to Jefferson-Lee Joseph powering through the middle and diving between the posts, almost like he was competing at the Aquatics Centre over the road.

Then Dupont arrived.

Fuelled by the energy of the crowd, and the second-half impact of their talisman, Les Bleus moved ahead when Grandidier finished off Dupont’s handiwork.

Grandidier was born in London, grew up in Bromley and learnt to play rugby in Orpington.

When still a teenager, the winger decided to take advantage of his French mother’s heritage and try his luck across the Channel.

“To be completely honest, no-one was picking me up in England – no professional academies anyway. That’s what I really wanted,” said Grandidier, now 24, who earlier this year joined French Top 14 side Pau.

He told BBC Sport: “I found out France had a system that allowed you a bit more time to break out on to the scene, so I was like, ‘you know what, screw it, I’ve got nothing to lose, this is what I want to do’.

“So I decided to chase it and pursue that dream.”

Now Grandidier and the rest of the French sevens team are living the dream, and what the hosts will hope becomes a summer gold rush is up and running.