An Antoine Dupont-inspired France handed Fiji its first loss on the Olympic stage to secure a gold medal for the host nation.

Played an frenetic pace, the two sides could not be separated at halftime, with scores locked at 7-7. 

Joseva Talacolo opened the scoring for Fiji, before Jefferson-Lee Joseph returned fire for France.

With the atmosphere simmering along just below boiling point in the Stade de France, French coach Jerome Daret utilized his ace of spades by unleashing Dupont for the second half.

• Subscribe To Watch The Top 14 On FloRugby
• The Highest-Paid Rugby Player Is Finn Russell, But Who's In The Top 10?
• International Rugby Fixtures 2024 On FloRugby

As he had done throughout the tournament, Dupont immediately impacted the match with an 80-meter break, before offloading it to the supporting Aaron Grandidier for the try that broke the deadlock.

Now on top and with the sound of La Marseillaise booming out of the stands, the French tails were up, while Fiji was back pedaling. 

In a near poetic finish to the fixture, it would be Dupont who would have his crowning moment in front of his adoring fans less than a year on from France’s heartbreaking Rugby World Cup quarterfinal exit. Darting between two Fijian defenders, he would score France’s third try, before putting an exclamation mark on the result by barging over as time expired to secure a dominant 28-7 win.

The sound of fine champagne being popped could be heard around France, as arguably their biggest sporting star cemented his legacy amongst the all-time greats of the game at just 27 years old.

On the flipside of the jubilant scenes, a heartbroken Fiji saw its Olympic defense end on a down note.

Yet, while the Fijians' despair is understandable, their run as the most dominant team in Olympic rugby history remains, with this being their only loss in 16 outings at the games. 

Factor in their mixed run of form on the SVNS World Series, and their rather fortuitous bounce of a ball to down Ireland in the quarterfinals, and there is no doubt this was a successful campaign for the flying Fijians.

Rewinding the clock 45 minutes, and it would be another moment of joy for South African Rugby fans at the Stade de France, as their sevens team secured the bronze medal against Australia. This achievement came less than a year after their Rugby World Cup victory at the same venue and was one of the more unlikely outcomes coming into the tournament following a poor year by their standards on the SVNS Series.

Parking their up-and-down form, the Blitzbokke recovered from two opening-day defeats to Ireland and New Zealand to have a knockout run not too dissimilar to the one their XV a side colleagues enjoyed last year. Despite coming up short against the eventual champions, a bronze medal was a super result for the Blitzbokke.

Outside of the medal considerations, New Zealand secured the fifth spot, defeating Ireland, which ended up in sixth. Behind them, in order of seventh to 12th, came Argentina, USA, Kenya, Samoa, Uruguay and Japan.

How To Watch Rugby Matches In the United States On FloRugby

The URC will stream all its matches on FloRugby and the FloSports app in the United States. FloRugby and FloSports also are the U.S. home to: 

• Investec Champions Cup
• EPCR Challenge Cup
• Currie Cup
• Top 14
• Super Rugby
• And more

FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays. 

Join The Rugby Conversation On FloRugby Social

• Follow us on Twitter @florugby
• Follow us on Instagram @florugby
• Watch us on YouTube
• Like us on Facebook