Women's game shows no sign of slowing down

SPOTLIGHT: A new attendance record was set for the women’s game when 66,000 fans packed Stade de France for the first day of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 women’s Sevens competition.

The new record set on Sunday surpasses the 58,498 at Twickenham for England v France in 2023.

World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “After a scintillating men’s competition at these special coming of age Games for Sevens, it is fitting that yet another record has been smashed.

“With the world’s best women’s sevens players shining brightly on sport’s biggest stage, 66,000 fans were gripped by the action, while an unprecedented broadcast and digital audience will ensure that more young people in more nations and communities will be inspired by these awesome athletes, who are amongst the best in the world in sport.”

*WRAP: Olympic Sevens, Women – Day One

USA, France and New Zealand also secured their spots in the knockouts while China pulled off the upset of the day as they beat Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists Fiji by 40-12.

Reigning Olympic champions New Zealand ended day one top of Pool A after closing out the day’s action with an impressive 33-7 defeat of Canada, adding to their earlier 43-5 victory against China.

Meanwhile, Fiji slumped to two losses from two, edged 17-14 by Canada in their opener before their shock loss to China. Fiji had led the game 7-5 after three minutes but next season’s SVNS series newcomers kept coming at them, crossing for six tries to record a famous Olympic victory.

Australia got off to a flying start against South Africa in their opener, Maddison Levi and Faith Nathan both dotting down in the right corner inside the first four minutes. Levi scored twice more to complete her hat-trick before the break, taking Australia 24-0 ahead before adding a fourth in the second half. Her sister Teagan also got in on the action with a try of her own in a 34-5 win.

They took on Great Britain in their second outing, and while GB’s Heather Cowell opened the scoring after Ellie Kildunne’s break, Maddison Levi soon levelled things at the other end in the first of six unanswered Australian tries. Levi added two more to take her personal tally to seven with Bienne Terita, Teagan Levi and Nathan taking them to a 36-5 victory.

Great Britain, however, will head into day two second in the pool after they beat Ireland 21-12 in their opening game. Ireland recovered well to beat South Africa 38-0 in their second game, tries from Béibhinn Parsons, Stacey Flood, Vicki Elmes Kinlan, Eve Higgins and Amee Leigh Murphy Crowe in a dominant second half keeping them in the fight for quarter-final qualification.

USA got their Olympic campaign off to a strong start as they defeated Japan 36-7 in Pool C. Japan had got the first points of the game through Sakura Mizutani, but from there on it was all USA Eagles, Kristi Kirshe scoring a brace in a six-try conquest.

A 24-5 win against Brazil in their second game took them into day two unbeaten, with a showdown against France to decide the pool in store.

Hosts France thrilled the boisterous home crowd by also ending the day unbeaten after convincing wins against Brazil and Japan without conceding a point. They won 26-0 in their opener against the South Americans before a bombarding performance against Japan ended 49-0 in their favour, scoring seven tries on their way to the Pool C summit.

Australia captain Charlotte Caslick revealed what the team learned from not getting a medal at Tokyo 2020.

“It is a part of sport that it brings highs and lows. But we have achieved a lot since then so we have definitely moved on and are really looking forward to this campaign. That loss in Tokyo has really helped us to grow.

“We have a lot of girls coming back after injuries. We do not have Kaitlin (Shave) who is out of the Olympics after an injury in the first game. But there are still many girls who are able to adapt to anything and they can do really well at this tournament.

“We just have to keep doing what we do, to keep performing. We don’t do it for recognition, we do it because we love each other and we love this sport. Hopefully, if we’re successful here we’ll go a long way.”

New Zealand captain Sarah Hirini shed light on playing her first match since a serious knee injury in December.

“It means a lot. It’s been a tough journey but I’m so grateful to the people around me to get me back to this point. I’m so happy to be back with the team and on the big stage.

On her fight to make the Olympic Games, Hirni said:  “There have been a lot of doubts and a lot of isolation. I completely took myself away but we have an amazing medical team, they literally had every resource possible. I’m so proud to be back representing my family, everyone back in New Zealand.

“Wearing this black jersey means everything. It gives you superpowers. It has such a legacy and it’s one of the most powerful tools we can hold on to for a set amount of time. And when the time comes you give it to the next person.”