"Try Machines" - 5 Players to Watch in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games Rugby Sevens

The men's tournament commences this Wednesday 24th July, before the women's competition kick's off on Sunday 28th. There are plenty of top talents occupying the three groups, with Pools A, B and C brimming with Parisian star power. We have focussed our scope down upon five top players, who are set to light up the sevens stage this Summer, along with a handful of honourable mentions sprinkled in.

Fiji are the reigning champions of the men's rugby sevens event, whilst New Zealand took home the gold from the women's tournament in Tokyo 2021. Team GB and the Republic of Ireland have only qualified for the women's tournament in the upcoming games, with the standard of competition better than ever as the revamped HSBC SVNS series took the sport by storm this season. Here is a run down of five top players to keep an eye out for, across both the men's and women's Olympic rugby sevens tournaments.

We commence this list of top Olympic talents, with one of the best known names across World Rugby. France's resident magician Antoine Dupont has his eyes on Parisian glory, after the scrum half was unable to lead his side to the winners medals at the Rugby World Cup. The captain of Les Bleus, Dupont is widely regarded amongst the best players of the international 15s game, and he has seamlessly transitioned his abilities to the sevens stage.

The 2021 World Rugby Men's Player of the Year marked his France Sevens debut in Vancouver, as the HSBC SVNS series commenced upon its Canadian leg. Dupont then led the charge as France claimed their first sevens title in 19 years, as Les Blues took home the trophy from Carson, California. France ended the 2023/24 HSBC SVNS season as overall men's champions, as Dupont helped his side towards a 19-5 win over Argentina in final's week, hosted in Madrid.

The Stade Toulousain halfback has been dropping in and out of his club commitments throughout the season, as preparations heated up across the high octane HSBC SVNS circuit. Dupont was unable to play for Fabien Galthie's XV throughout the 2024 Guinness Six Nations, but did make a cameo appearence in his club's royal red, to lead Toulouse to their record-breaking sixth Champions Cup title.

A legend of rugby union in Australia, Michael Hooper is pursuing one last conquest as he approaches the twilight of his international career. The immortal back-row was left out of the 2023 Rugby World Cup Wallabies squad by former head coach Eddie Jones, who implied that a calf injury kept the flanker from performing at his best. Missing out on the World Cup in France has only further spurred Hooper on, to ensure that he comes home from Paris as an Olympic gold medallist.

Hooper began his professional career with the Brumbies in 2010, and the back-row was promptly revered across the competition for his brutal tackling, fearsome work rate, and technical ability over the breakdown. Hooper marked his Rugby Sevens debut in his trademark fashion, as just moments into his first cap for the Wallabies Sevens, he stole a turnover at the breakdown against Fiji.

Having made over 120 caps for the Wallabies in the 15-a-side version of the sport, Hooper is a household name across Australia and a former captain of the national team. The back-row first took up the armband in a full-time capacity back in 2017, after Stephen Moore hung up his boots for retirement. Hooper's reign at the helm of the side lasted until his omission from the Rugby World Cup squad, as the 32-year-old now embarks on a new challenge with his country.

Arguably the biggest name in the Team GB women's sevens squad, the Leicester Tigers centre has been in and out of the Team GB Olympic set-up before. Jones exemplifies what it takes to excel at both the 15s and sevens versions of the sport, as she begun her Test match career in rugby union, before swapping over to sevens soon after. Jones had a baptism of fire for her first outing with the Red Roses, as she made her debut against the Black Ferns of New Zealand in 2015.

With pace to burn and an unpredictable first step, Jones was then promptly selected to travel to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics, as she teamed up with Great Britain for the games in Brazil. Jones Returned to England 15s duties for the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup, and scored the Red Roses' first try of the tournament, when she dotted down against Spain. Jones was more recently apart of the GB squad that won gold medals from the 2023 European Games in Poland, and the England team that won the 2023 & 2024 Women's Six Nations Grand Slams, as well as 2023 WXV in New Zealand.

Jones joins the likes of Emily Scarratt and Alex Matthews in those England women's talents to excel upon both the sevens and 15s stages, with England teammate Ellie Kildunne looking to become the next in Paris. The Harlequins wing joins up with Jones for the trip to France, after her Quins side had an underwhelming season and finished seventh in the PWR. Jones and Kildunne are adding some Red Roses spark to the Team GB talents, in the hopes of bringing Great Britain home the gold medals from Paris.

A pivotal figure in the current best women's sevens rugby side in the world, Maddison Levi will be looking to light up the Olympics in her customary style. A try-machine who helped the Wallaroos claim the world title from the 2023/24 HSBC SVNS series, Levi and her teammates are riding a wave of momentum to Paris, all the way from the Gold Coast of Australia. The 22-year-old certainly knows her way to the try-line, as she set a try-scoring record in an unforgettable 2022/23 season.

Levi rocked up a blistering 100 tries upon the international sevens circuit in record time, as it only took the wing 15 tour events to break the century milestone. Levi made her first appearence for Australia's sevens set-up in the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, when at just 19-years-old, she broke new ground at such an early age. Levi would go on to win the 2022 Rugby Sevens World Cup with Australia, as she scored an impressive hat-trick in the final against New Zealand. Levi would also take home a gold medal from 2022 Commonwealth Games, hosted in Birmingham, England.

Outside of rugby sevens, Maddison Levi is pursuing a career in Australian Rules Football with the Gold Coast Suns. Drafted into the AFLW straight out of finishing her studies at Bond University, Levi plays as a forward and midfielder for the Suns, and was the Gold Coast club's leading goal kicker of 2021. However, it is evident that Levi is prioritising rugby sevens above Aussie Rules, as the flyer has been named upon the Gold Coast Suns' inactive roster list since the 2022 season. With Levi at her very best, Australia could well be contenders for the gold medals this Summer in the French capital.

Fiji centre Josua Tuisova is the fifth and final name on our short-list, with the centre well known in France long before the Paris Olympic Games. Tuisova has been a leading name within the Top 14 back-lines since 2013, as the Fijian has enjoyed club spells with Toulon, Lyon and most recently with Racing 92. This latest stint in the French capital club saw him score two tries in five matches, as he spent the majority of his season side-lined with a knee injury.

Tuisova picked up the injury in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final, as the Flying Fijians took on England last October. The 30-year-old's longest stint with any given club was by far his six season tenure in Toulon, that stretched from 2013 through to 2019. As fleet-footed as a Fijian ever comes, Tuisova often embarrasses his opposition, and leaves them looking the wrong way or scrambling up off the deck. When the hot-stepping centre-come-wing is not skipping passed tacklers, he is equally adept to planting a strong fend and musclING his way over his opponent.

There are plenty of highlight reels showcasing Tuisova at his very best, and this incoming Fiji team looks like a real threat to retain their gold medals from Tokyo. Tuisova is joined by the likes of Bristol Bears loose forward Viliame Mata and Fijian Drua wing Samisoni Nasagavesi in the Fiji Sevens squad, who are without a doubt amongst the favourites to take home the gold medals from France.

In all Olympic events across every sport, Fiji have only ever claimed a Gold medal in Rugby Sevens. The honour was first achieved in Rio 2016, before the title was retained in Tokyo five years later. The Fijian Women also claimed the nation's only bronze medal, from the Women's Rugby Sevens event in Tokyo.