PA Media/DPA
London
Bryan Habana expects “box office” Antoine Dupont to take rugby sevens at the Paris Olympics to new heights.
France captain Dupont was the poster boy at last year’s World Cup held on French soil, but the 27-year-old skipped the 2024 Six Nations Championship to focus on Olympic glory.
The Toulouse scrum-half made an instant impact in the shortened version of the game by helping Les Bleus lift the inaugural World Rugby SVNS series crown with victory over regular-season league winners Argentina in the grand final.
“Every Olympic cycle we’ve seen a few XV players try to make the transition,” former South Africa wing great Habana, 41, told the PA news agency.
“With Antoine it was probably an easier decision to make. The fact that there’s been an alignment in all the structures within France from Toulouse to the French federation has helped him.
“I ask myself why more French XV players haven’t done it - Damian Penaud and Gabin Villiere would be brilliant at the sport - but the fans are in for something special in Paris.
“Antoine is a guy that is absolutely box office in every way possible.
“It was a massive call to miss the Six Nations, but the seamlessness which he has made the transition has been absolutely brilliant.
“We don’t know what a ceiling looks like for him yet because he continues to break through it.”
Les Bleus are in the same pool as Fiji - gold medallists at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 - with the early action at the Stade de France getting under way on Wednesday, two days before the opening ceremony of Paris 2024.
The medals will be decided on Saturday, with Fiji and France expecting stern competition from Australia, Argentina and New Zealand.
Ireland feature XVs international Hugo Keenan and Connacht’s Andrew Smith following their reintegration back into the sevens programme and will also hope to be in the mix for medals.
But Britain, silver medallists eight years ago, are absent after losing to South Africa at last month’s repechage final in Monaco.
Habana, who just missed out on South Africa selection for Rio after switching his focus to sevens, said: “It’s going to be such an exciting tournament.
“The alignment of rugby sevens with an Olympic format has definitely caused a massive sense of excitement on the field.
“Whether it’s South Africa, New Zealand, Fiji or the French, it’s been great for the game and just seeing the continual growth of sevens globally has been brilliant.
“I obviously fell short in going to Rio, mostly because of injury, but knowing that I small part in helping the BlitzBoks go on to win a bronze medal there was pretty special.”
The women’s rugby sevens tournament in Paris takes place from July 28-30.
