Rugby 7: The Blues are third in Toulouse, and the Blues are at the foot of the stand

Saturday raised the wildest hopes. The two French rugby sevens teams, women’s and men’s, qualified with authority for the semi-finals of the Toulouse tournament, one of the stages of the World Sevens Championship series, and each had dreams of beating the New Zealand ogre to reach the final in front of their home crowd. A very good omen, we told ourselves, one year before the Paris Olympics.

“We are not afraid of New Zealanders,” Parisian Basquette Varian declared on Saturday. He was right, the Blues proved they had little to envy the Blacks Sevens even if, once again, they faced the glass ceiling that is the New Zealand Rugby 7s. But it all started out great for Jerome Darrett’s men, who took a 14-0 lead very quickly and then 14-12 again with 30 seconds left. The Lions then took the lead (14-19) but the Frenchman had a match point in injury time: unfortunately, Paul Leretre’s pass, which would have sent Thibaud Mazzolini towards the winning try, was intercepted by Kiwi Tim Mickelson, putting an end to the blue. Dreams on the playground of Ernst Wallon boil.

“Les Blue” finished fourth

In the small final, the French beat Canada (28-12), with a double from Brave Aaron Grandidier, to win the well-deserved bronze medal. This rewards a successful championship and, more broadly, a strong season with a fourth podium in ten tournaments and third place in the general classification before the final stage of the world circuit, in one week, in London.

“The disappointment in the half is still there, and the scenario of the Hong Kong Championship seems to have repeated itself (defeat in the semi-finals) But we managed to hold our heads high, greeted by Varian Basket on the Canal + Sport mic. It’s tough, after only two hours, but we managed to do it and I’m proud of what the guys have achieved. We are moving into third place in the general classification and we will try to maintain this third place in London. »

As for the France women’s national team, the final day revealed the level gap that currently separates the French national team and the world’s best. Against New Zealand, the French resisted for a long time before cracking at the end of the match (31-7) despite a stellar test from Séraphine Okemba. They also constantly stumble against the blacks, whom they previously beat in the final of the last Olympics in Tokyo. In the minor final, Caroline Drouin’s teammates also bowed out against Australia (33-7).