The pools for the 2024 Paris Olympics 7s tournament have been announced, with 12 teams set to compete for the title in matches scheduled for July.
African champions Kenya 7s have been placed in Pool B, alongside second-seeds Argentina, who had an impressive run in the World 7s Series, as well as Australia and Samoa.
2024 Paris Olympics 7s top seeds
New Zealand, the top seeds, are in Pool A with Ireland, South Africa, and Japan.
Kenya 7s captain joins other Captains in HSBC SVNs shoot. PHOTO/World Rugby
Pool C features the 2016 and 2020 champions Fiji, hosts France, the USA, and Uruguay.
The men’s 7s competition will be played between July 24-27, while the women’s tournament will be held from July 28-30.
For the first time, the rugby sevens matches will start two days before the opening ceremony, with the men’s preliminary and quarterfinal stages.
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The competition will take a break for the opening ceremony on July 26 before the medal-winning teams are officially unveiled a day later. The women’s tournament will culminate with the gold and bronze medal matches on July 30.
Hosts France were joined by New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji, and Australia, who secured their spots by ranking in the top four positions of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023.
Regional qualifiers include Uruguay (South America), Ireland (Europe), USA (North America), Kenya (Africa), Samoa (Oceania), and Japan (Asia), with South Africa securing a spot through the Repechage.
Kenya 7s speedster Patrick Odongo scores. PHOTO/Mike Lee for World Rugby.
The women’s Olympic lineup had New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, and the USA as the top four qualifiers through the 2023 World Series, along with hosts France. They were joined by regional qualifiers Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, South Africa, Fiji, and Japan.
Paris 2024 will mark rugby sevens’ third appearance at the Olympic Games. The sport is anticipated to be one of the most exciting events following the success of the Rugby World Cup 2023 in France.
Fiji’s men have dominated the Olympic competition, winning gold medals in both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. New Zealand are the reigning women’s Olympic champions, while Australia won the inaugural women’s Olympic gold medal in Rio.
2024 Paris Olympics 7s pools
Pool A: New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, Japan,
Pool B:Argentina, Australia, Kenya 7s, Samoa,
Pool C: Fiji, France, USA, Uruguay
