Antoine Dupont set up the decisive try to help France beat South Africa 19-5 and move into the rugby sevens gold medal match against two-time Olympic champion Fiji at the Paris Games on Saturday.
Fiji conceded a try early but recovered to beat Australia 31-7 in the second of the semifinals, getting mercurial playmaker Jerry Tuwai closer to a third Olympic gold.
Tuwai was voted sevens player of the last decade but the undisputed rugby star of the Paris Games is Dupont, who opted out of France’s Six Nations campaign and switched from the traditional 15s format to the condensed sevens version in pursuit of an Olympic gold.
Dupont didn't enter the semifinal until almost a minute into the second half when the score was 0-0.
Three tries
The French conceded a try soon after, briefly quietening the capacity crowd of 69,000 at Stade de France, before rallying with three tries to the constant echo of “Allez Les Bleus” around the national stadium.
The crowd had started singing La Marseillaise halfway through the preceding game and set a hostile tone with jeers and boos as the South African players ran onto the field before the semifinals.
The noise level intensified when the French team ran out and it went up another notch when Dupont finally went on after halftime.
Early rain meant conditions were wet and a light drizzle made the ball slippery, putting the emphasis on the defense of both teams.
First try
South Africa scored first when Tristan Leyds slid over in the right corner with more than four minutes remaining.
Varian Pasquet burst through a gap and ran half the length of the field before turning the ball inside for Rayan Rebbadj to score for France, which took a 7-5 lead with the conversion.
Pasquet was held up over the tryline soon after and the cushion was still two points when Dupont took a quick penalty tap from five meters out, ran to the left and then passed right for Rebbadj to score untouched. The conversion gave France a 14-5 lead and Jordan Sepho capped it off with a late try.
Australia and South Africa will play for bronze later Saturday before France and Fiji meet in the final.
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