France claim Youth Olympic Gold
France claimed Youth Olympic Rugby Sevens gold in Nanjing as they saw off Argentina in the final 45-22.
France claimed Youth Olympic Rugby Sevens gold in Nanjing as they saw off Argentina in the final 45-22.
It was revenge for the young French side, who had lost to the Pumitas in the pool stages of the competition.
France, whose side featured Arthur Retière, the son of former French forwards coach Didier, and Alexandre Roumat, whose father Olivier won 61 caps for France and also captained them in the early 90s, knocked out Fiji in the semi-finals.
And having gone down 19-7 to Argentina in the pool stages, they turned the tide in remarkable fashion in the final.
They ran in a total of seven tries, with Martin Laveau grabbing a double.
After leading 19-12 at the break, they cut loose in the second half, running in 26 points including three tries in the last four minutes to claim the title.
“After the semi-final against Fiji we knew we had a huge final ahead of us,” said Retière, who added two conversions.
“We had to give ourselves, our bodies, our lives – everything. It was sort of revenge because we lost the first game, but we knew we could do it. And now we have done it, it's time for some fun.”
In the women's event it was Australia who claimed the title, as they overpowered Canada 38-10 in the final.
It was a remarkable tournament for the Australians, who conceded just 27 points in total, as they and France became the first teams to win Olympic rugby golds of any kind since the 1924 Paris games.