The dust has settled on the second day of the 2024 Paris Olympics men's rugby sevens tournament, with the battle lines drawn out for Saturday's semi-finals. We now know that the quartet of South Africa, France, Fiji and Australia make up the semi-finalists, after an exhaustive day of thrills and spills in the French capital.
There were plenty of talking points from the culmination of the pool stages and the quarter-final matches, but none were bigger than the dubious circumstances that saw Fiji through to the last four. Ireland were on track to record a history making victory over the South Pacific Islanders, as they led 15-7 into the second half of the match.
However, there was no counting out the two-time Olympic gold medalists, who battled back to narrow down the score-line ahead of the final moments of the match. An air-borne ball was knocked forward by a Fijian hand, with the loose ball then bouncing up for Waisea Nacuqu, who sprinted through a gap in the Ireland defence for the winning try, and a 19-15 triumph.
Reflecting on the incident, former England fly-half Andy Goode took to X, saying, “Ireland done by the ref missing a knock on from the kick off which leads to the winning try for Fiji. Can the TMO not intervene in 7s when it leads to a try? Shocking.”
“Clear knock on from Fiji that leads directly to the winning try over the heartbroken Ireland team. How was this not checked by the TMO in an Olympic quarter-final? If the TMO isn’t allowed to check, it’s even more ludicrous.”
Regardless of the circumstances, Fiji men maintain the 100% win rate at the Olympics, in what was their 15th consecutive victory at the games. The Flying Fijians won the gold medals when the sport was first added to the Olympics back in Rio 2016, and then maintained their dominance on the Olympic stage for the Tokyo games in 2021.
Fiji are joined by Australia in their semi-final this Saturday, with the Blitz Bokke of South Africa taking on the host nation of France in the opposite semi-final. Here is a full recap of Day 2 of the men's Olympic rugby sevens results.
FULL RESULTS: 2024 PARIS OLYMPICS RUGBY SEVENS - MEN'S DAY TWO
Samoa 26-0 Kenya (Pool B)
SAMOA: 26
Tries: 4 (Opetai, Scanlan, Maliko, Onosai)
Conversions: 2 (Scanlan, Onosai)
KENYA: 0
Tries: 0
Conversions: 0
Halftime Score: Samoa 12-0 Kenya
Argentina 14-22 Australia (Pool B)
ARGENTINA: 14
Tries: 2 (Shultz, Osadczuk)
Conversions: 2 (Shultz, Osadczuk)
AUSTRALIA: 22
Tries: 4 (Hutchinson, Dowling, Roache, Malouf)
Conversions: 1 (Malouf)
Half Time Score: Argentina 7 - 10 Australia
United States 33 - 17 Uruguay (Pool C)
UNITED STATES: 33
Tries: Baker (4), Lacamp
Conversions: 4 (Baker 3, Lacamp)
URUGUAY: 17
Tries: 3 (Baltazar, Lijtenstein, Amaya)
Coversions: 1 (Baltazar)
Half Time Score - United States 14 - 12 Uruguay
Fiji 19 - 12 France (Pool C)
FIJI: 19
Tries: 3 (Tuwai, Rasaku, Nasova)
Conversions: 2 (Rasaku, Nasova)
FRANCE: 10
Tries: 2 (Grandidier Nkanang, Timo)
Conversions: 1 (Timo)
Half Time Score: Fiji 5 - 5 France
South Africa vs Japan (Pool A)
SOUTH AFRICA: 49
Tries: 7 (Davids, Visser, Van Vyk (2) Ousthuizen (2), Speckman)
Conversions: 7 (Davids, Visser, Van Vyk (2), Ousthuizen (2), Speckman)
JAPAN 5
Tries: 1 (Ueda)
Conversions: 0
Half Time Score - South Africa 35 - 0 Japan
New Zealand 14 - 12 Ireland (Pool A)
NEW ZEALAND: 14
Tries: 2 (Carter, McGarvey-Black)
Conversions: 2 (Carter, McGarvey-Black)
IRELAND: 12
Tries: 2 (Ward, Conroy)
Conversions: 1 (Conroy)
Half Time Score - New Zealand 0 - 12 Ireland
Samoa 42 - 7 Japan (Men's Placing Match: 9th - 12th)
SAMOA: 42
Tries: 6 (Scanlan 2, Apelu Maliko, Leitufia, Maiava, Lalomilo)
Conversions: 6 (Scanlan 2, Apelu Maliko, Leitufia, Maiava, Lalomilo)
JAPAN: 7
Tries: 1 (Noguchi)
Conversions: 1 (Noguchi)
Half Time Score - Samoa 14 - 7 Japan
Uruguay 14 - 19 Kenya (Men's Placing Match: 9th - 12th)
URUGUAY: 14
Tries: 2 (Tafernaberry, Amaya)
Conversions: 2 (Tafernaberry, Amaya)
KENYA: 14
Tries: 3 (Okoth, Asati, Odongo)
Conversions: 2 (Okoth, Asati)
Yellow cards: 1 (Okoth)
Half Time Score - Uruguay 7 - 0 Kenya
Men's Quarter Final - New Zealand 7 - 14 South Africa
NEW ZEALAND: 7
Tries: 1 (Leo)
Conversions: 1 (Leo)
SOUTH AFRICA: 14
Tries: 2 (Davids, Leyds)
Conversions: 1 (Davids, Leyds)
Half Time Score: New Zealand 7 - 14 South Africa
Men's Quarter Final - Argentina 7 - 26 France
ARGENTINA: 7
Tries: 2 (Isgro, Moneta)
Conversions: 2 (Isgro, Pellandini)
FRANCE: 26
Tries: 4 (Timo, Grandidier Nkanang 2, Dupont)
Conversions: 3 (Timo, Grandidier Nkanang 2)
Yellows cards: 1 (Sepho)
Half Time Score: Argentina 0 - 21 France
Men's Quarter Final - Fiji 19 - 15 Ireland
FIJI: 19
Tries: 3 (Baleiwairiki, Nasovo, Nacuqu)
Conversions: 2 (Baleiwairiki, Nacuqu)
IRELAND: 15
Tries: 3 (Mullins 2, Ward)
Conversions: 0
Half Time Score: Fiji 7 - 10 Ireland
Men's Quarter Final - Australia 18 - 0 United States
AUSTRALIA: 18
Tries: 3 (Turner, Toole, Longbottom)
Conversions: 0
Penalties: 1 (Longbottom)
UNITED STATES: 0
Tries: 0
Conversions: 0
Half Time Score: Australia 10 - 0 United States
