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Antoine Dupont helped France advance to a semi-final against South Africa on Saturday, while Fiji beat Ireland to reach the quarter-finals of the Olympic rugby sevens against Australia.
AFP Sport looks at five highlights from Thursday’s thrilling quarter-final to semi-final clash, with Friday’s matches not taking place due to the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
Fiji: Room for improvement
Fiji beat Ireland 19-15 in a thrilling quarter-final match, with players from both teams collapsing on the court exhausted after the game.
Fiji, the two-time defending champions who have never lost an Olympic sevens tournament, faced a tough defence against Ireland, whose midfield playmaker Terry Kennedy once again shone for his side.
A try by Waisea Nacuqu with two minutes left sealed the win for the fumbled South Sea Islanders.
New coach Osea Kolinisau, who captained Fiji to gold on their sevens debut at the Rio Olympics, will no doubt have ideas about how his side can improve in their semi-final against Australia.
DuPont Effect
French superstar Antoine Dupont was on the bench for Thursday’s final group match and quarterfinal, which Olympic host France defeated Argentina 26-14.
The French 15-man captain played in both group matches on Wednesday and scored the decisive goal to help France secure a place in the quarter-finals.
But in the crucial match against the Panthers, head coach Jerome Durrett called upon a familiar face, with impressive sevens specialist Stephen Parres-Edo Martin playing the role of playmaker to perfection.
When Dupont came on with five minutes remaining, the Stade de France, which holds 69,000 people, erupted into a deafening atmosphere rarely seen in a stadium.
Who else but Dupont could have dodged and performed an acrobatic diving save in injury time in a fairytale finale to the quarter-finals to ensure France a place in the semi-final against South Africa?
Classy Davis inspires Lightning
South Africa captain Selvyn Davids played brilliantly and led his team to a 14-7 win over New Zealand.
The veteran scored the first point and then scored the second point.
He chased his own fly ball, slid deftly and caught it, turned and flicked it into the hands of Tristan Leyds.
Davis, 30, then made two successful tackles in a tight second quarter, perfectly demonstrating his lead downfield.
“People back home thought we had no chance, but where there is a will there is a way. Our players worked together and beat New Zealand,” said Letts of the Antelopes qualifying for the Olympics only via a repechage tournament.
Australian Dark Horse
Australia topped Group B after defeating Samoa, Kenya and Argentina.
They outscored the United States 18-0 in their own quarterfinal match and never seemed to give up any points to the soft Americans.
The Kangaroos’ tight and strong defence will be a real test for Fiji.
Unwelcome Argentina
The Jaguars were booed and whistled by the crowd at every game at the Stade de France.
The country’s soccer team also faced hostility in its opening match against Morocco on Wednesday following a racism scandal that erupted after the senior team’s Copa America triumph.
FIFA has announced an investigation into the chanting by Argentina’s players following their 1-0 win over Colombia in the Copa America final.
The Argentine rugby player was puzzled by his reception and insisted he played a different sport.
“If the crowd is with us, it’s very motivating for us, but when they’re against us, as we’ve seen, they’re here, it’s also something to enjoy,” Gaston Revol said.
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