France claimed one of the final two tickets to Tokyo after winning their Olympic Repechage qualifier final against Hong Kong, 51-0.
In shutting Hong Kong out for the second time in the tournament, France went through the entire weekend without conceding a single point – while scoring 254 themselves.
More than Ok!
Séraphine Okemba contributed a quarter of France’s 40 tries in Monaco, her tally of 10 was the best of the tournament.
Fun in the land of the rising Sun
Going to Japan for the Olympics will rekindle fond memories for Okemba and the France squad as a whole.
Kitakyushu is where she made her World Series debut in 2017 and a year later Les Bleues reached their first Cup final there.
And, in 2019, France created history in Kitakyushu when they ended the Black Ferns Sevens’ 38-match unbeaten run on the World Series.
France had the honour of playing in the first ever Olympic rugby sevens match, beating Spain 24-7.
Camille Grassineau scored the first Olympic sevens try after only 14 seconds at the Deodoro Stadium.
But despite beating Spain for a second time, Les Bleues had to be content with a sixth-place finish in Rio.
Ready to kick on
Led by experienced captain Fanny Horta, France have made giant strides in the last few years and will be confident of making an impression in Tokyo.
France were runners-up at Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 in San Francisco, losing to New Zealand in the final, a month after achieving their best all-time finish of third on the World Series.
David Courteix was named Coach of the Tournament at RWC Sevens 2018 and is the only women’s coach to be in charge for a second Olympic Games.
Olympic pedigree
Anne-Cécile Ciofani is set to follow in footsteps of her parents who were both Olympians in throwing events, her father for France in 1984 and her mother for Cameroon in 1988.
