On Olympic Day, World Rugby and Paris 2024 have unveiled the pools for the Olympic rugby sevens competitions taking place in the French capital from 24-30 July.
The 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams were allocated to three pools of four teams based on their rankings due to performances over the last two years of the HSBC SVNS Series, Challenger Series and other World Rugby-sanctioned tournaments.
All six World Rugby regions are represented among the 24 teams who secured their spots in Paris via the HSBC SVNS Series and regional qualification competitions.
In Group C the USA Women's Sevens will face hosts and 2020 silver medalists France, Japan, and Brazil. The USA Men's Sevens, also in Group C, will match up with two-time Olympic gold medalists Fiji, hosts, France, and Uruguay.
The men finished 9th and 6th in 2016 and 2020, respectively, and the women 5th and 6th. Both teams will have eyes on the podium as they look to improve on past Olympic results.
World Rugby Chairman, Sir Bill Beaumont said: “We are thrilled to unveil the rugby sevens Olympic pools for what promises to be an epic, coming-of-age tournament for our sport in the French capital.
“In one month’s time, our sport will have the honour of kicking-off Paris 2024 in style with an exciting and spectacular brand of rugby that will excite the hundreds of thousands of fans in Stade de France and capture millions more hearts and minds of those watching around the world.
“Rugby sevens is a fantastic engine to grow our sport and on its third Olympic appearance is already proving to be one of the attractions of the Games with record enthusiasm for tickets, mouthwatering rivalries and two strong French national teams hoping to achieve their Olympic dreams on home soil.
“We know from Rugby World Cup 2023 what an amazing rugby show Paris can put on and the Olympic Games will be no different with knowledgeable and passionate fans expected to fill the stadium and create an incredible atmosphere for the players and teams to showcase their unique combination of speed, strength and sensational skills.”
Rugby sevens is expected to be one of the highlights of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, following the resounding success of Rugby World Cup 2023 in France. All the action will take place at Stade de France, which was the venue for the opening match and final of Rugby World Cup 2023.
The men’s competition will take place from 24-27 July, with the women’s tournament following on 28-30 July. The men’s gold medal match on 27 July will see the first team sport gold medal of the Games awarded.
