Sawt Falasteen - Olympic rugby sevens: five stand-out players

AFP Sport looks at five stand-out players aside from French superstar Antoine Dupont from the three-day tournament, which attracted 69,000-capacity crowds at each session at the Stade de France.

Jerry Tuwai (FIJ)

Jerry Tuwai was restored to a stuttering Fiji team by former captain Osea Kolinisau, who won Olympic gold as a player in Rio alongside the playmaker.

Kolinisau took over from Ben Gollings in March and the twinkle-toed Tuwai was number one on his shopping list.

Tuwai was instrumental in Fiji's march to the final, blending consummate handling skills with his defensive abilities as a sweeper.

The 35-year-old, who was also part of the Fijian squad that won gold at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games, brought a much-needed calm head to the team.

"Fiji is blessed to have Jerry Tuwai, you can see the leadership he brings," said Kolinisau.

"He is commanding on the field, it is like having a coach playing with the players."

Aaron Grandidier Nkanang (FRA)

While it was France and Toulouse 15s skipper Antoine Dupont who grabbed the headlines, a raft of other players on the French side stood out, not least Aaron Grandidier Nkanang and his impressive finishing qualities.

Born in London to a Nigerian father and French mother, he took up rugby as an 11-year-old at school in London.

In 2019 he was a member of England's development programme for rugby sevens and playing in the English third division with Old Elthamians, but he attracted interest from several French clubs, eventually joining Brive.

"To play sevens in front of 69,000 people is something I could not imagine doing in my whole life," said the 24-year-old, who scored a try in the final. "I feel so honoured to be here."

Selvyn Davids (RSA)

South Africa captain Selvyn Davids has been in irrepressible form in the French capital.

The 30-year-old sevens veteran had been instrumental in dragging the Blitzbokke into the bronze medal match.

South Africa had to qualify for Paris through a repechage tournament in Monaco where they beat Britain to claim the 12th and final spot in Paris.

Davids, whose long dreadlocks make him an easy player to spot, scored a memorable try in the bronze medal match, gathering his own chip one-handed to touch down.

With the scores locked at 19 points apiece, he then made the decisive break, passing to Shaun Williams to actually dot down.

Terry Kennedy (IRL)

Ireland 15s full-back Hugo Keenan might have been the name most onlookers would recognise in the Irish team.

But it was Kennedy, World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year in 2022 and nicknamed the 'silent assassin', who stood out.

The Leinster academy product, whose father also named Terry played internationally for Ireland, has been with the Irish sevens set-up since 2015.

And his experience shone through in Paris, notably when the 28-year-old playmaker scored an outstanding solo, match-winning try against the United States.

Kennedy's Ireland team were eventually beaten 17-7 by New Zealand to finish sixth in the competition.

Perry Baker (USA)

He may be 38, but Baker -- known as 'Speedstick' and clocked at 4.34sec over 40 metres -- proved that age is nothing but a number.

Baker finished the tournament as the top try scorer and has now scored a record 10 in his three Olympic Games.

"It has not really hit me. I would trade it all to be on the podium at the end of the day," said Baker, twice World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year (2017, 2018).

The flyer said he was "forever grateful... of just fighting for the last 10 years, trying to put USA rugby on a map, to try to be a top contender."

A stalwart of the American team on the sevens circuit since 2014, Baker grew up playing as a wide receiver in American football and hoped to take up that sport professionally.

After signing for the Philadelphia Eagles in the National Football League in 2011, he was released when they discovered a knee injury that he had initially sustained during his time playing for Fairmont State University.

He played American football for two years in the Arena Football League before switching to rugby sevens.

N.Awad--SF-PST