France favored to cash in on home field advantage and win Rugby Sevens Gold

Dean Etheridge
By , Updated on: Jul 23, 2024 12:00 AM
2024 Paris Olympics Men's Rugby Sevens Betting Picks and Predictions

Host nation France hopes to make the most of home-field advantage when the Rugby Sevens gets underway at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Fiji are the defending champions. But France has thrown a lot of resources into winning this gold medal. We tell you who will come out on top in our 2024 Paris Olympics betting picks.

  • What: Rugby sevens 2024 Paris Summer Olympics
  • Where: Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France
  • When: Wednesday, July 24th – Tuesday, July 30th

After only being introduced to the games in 2016, Rugby Sevens is making only its third-ever appearance at a Summer Olympics.

The sevens game is a trimmed-down version of the usual 15-a-side we are used to seeing in international rugby. Played on a full-size pitch, it is also a far faster game with fewer scrums and plenty of wide open spaces for speedy backs to run into, making it more about fitness than brutal strength.

There is only a brief history of Rugby Sevens in the Olympics. The sport was only added to the Olympic roster in 2016, and to date, Fiji is the only winner.

In 2016, the Fijians defeated Great Britain to win gold. They defended their title again in Tokyo in the delayed 2020 games, this time seeing off New Zealand to take the gold medal.

Betting to win the Men’s Rugby sevens at the 2024 Paris Olympics

France leads the way in the betting to win the Men’s Rugby Sevens at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Captained by Paulin Riva, the French are the +175 betting favorites to win the event for the first time.

Second in the betting is Argentina at +300. New Zealand, the silver medal winner in Tokyo, is third in the betting at +330, and the defending champions, Fiji is at +600.

More Olympic Rugby Sevens betting is on our Olympics odds table. And for more information about betting on the Rugby Sevens, please check out our How to Bet on the Paris Olympics page.

France targets gold in the Paris Olympics

As the host nation, France has invested a lot of time and effort into winning the Rugby Sevens gold medal.

World Rugby Men’s 15s 2021 Player of the Year, Antoine Dupont, no less, has been drafted into the team to help win the gold medal. As a result, Dupont played no part in the 2024 Six Nations, instead focusing on playing for the Sevens team with Paris in mind.

Dupont has made the seamless transition and alongside Jordan Sepho, Stephen Parez-Edo Martin, and Paulin Riva, has added that extra touch of je ne sais quoi to the French team.

Dupont proved pivotal in his nation’s run to the SVNS Grand Final triumph in Madrid. A run that included a first series tournament win in 19 years in the USA Sevens at the start of March.

France To win 2024 Paris Olympics Rugby Sevens
BetUS
+175

Dangerous Argentina

The Pumas are second favorites in the betting, and it’s not hard to see why. In the recent Grand Final event held in Madrid, Argentina was runners-up to France in the final.

As annoying as that was for the Pumas, they can console themselves in the knowledge that they were probably the best team across the duration of the competition.

In the group stages, Argentina topped Group A with three wins from three. Included in those three wins was a comprehensive 26-12 victory over guess who, yes, the French.

Argentina will fear no team when this competition gets underway.

Argentina To win 2024 Paris Olympics Rugby Sevens
BetUS
+300

What about the defending champions?

Also performing to a high standard at the recent Grand Finals in Madrid was Fiji. The Fijians topped Group B with three wins from three, a group that included New Zealand, Ireland, and South Africa.

The Fijians did fall short against France in the semi-final, going down to a 21-14 defeat. They did bounce back from the one-score loss by winning the third-place playoff match against New Zealand 17-10.

Fiji To win 2024 Paris Olympics Rugby Sevens
BetUS
+600

Any dark horses?

New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, and South Africa are the only other nations with a realistic chance of winning a medal. The All Blacks will have ambitions of winning gold, but for the other three, any medal will be a success.

The All Blacks made it to the third-place playoff at the recent Spain Sevens but lost to Fiji in the bronze medal match. They will regard that event as a warm-up for the Olympics and won’t be putting too much scope on the outcome.

Our Pick to win the 2024 Paris Olympics Rugby Sevens

Sorry France. Okay, we think they can win. But at odds of just +175, they are not one of our Olympics betting picks, we feel they are too short.

Out of the short-priced teams, we would go with Argentina, as we feel they are better betting value at +300. But for our overall pick to win the 2024 Paris Olympics Rugby Sevens, we are going for Fiji.

Fiji To win 2024 Paris Olympics Rugby Sevens
BetUS
+600

Make sure you check out our top-rated sportsbooks below. These are our recommended 2024 Paris Olympics betting partners that you can read more about on our sportsbook reviews page:

Meet the author

Dean Etheridge

Dean is an experienced freelance content writer who honed his skills by writing for his own football betting website for over 15 years. In more recent times, Dean has extended his sports writing portfolio to cover a whole host of other sports including golf, tennis,...

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