Dupont helps stuttering France into Olympics men's sevens quarter-finals

Dupont played for 12 minutes in the opening 12-12 Pool C draw against the USA, and the Americans scored the equalizing try after he had been substituted.

"It was an incredible atmosphere for us," said Dupont. "It's not often that we get to play in a stadium like this. We need to embrace this atmosphere and the pressure in order to perform better in the next game.

Playing with all our supporters brings a lot of emotion, so it's important to handle that and perform even under pressure." Dupont started the second match and scored a memorable try in the hard-fought 19-12 victory over Uruguay, who had lost their opener 40-12 to Fiji.

This result meant that France, who will play against Fiji in their final pool game on Thursday, had secured a spot in the knock-out round later the same day, at worst as one of the top two teams finishing third in the pools.

Dupont has solidified his position as one of the top players in world rugby and is considered an iconic figure in France.

The decision to skip the Six Nations in order to join the French Olympic team was met with some criticism, but the determined scrum-half remained focused.

He played a crucial role in France's success in the World Rugby Sevens Series, contributing to two victories, including a win in the Madrid finals.

In addition to his sevens success, Dupont led his club Toulouse to victory in both the Top 14 and Champions Cup in the 15-a-side format.

During the match against the United States at the Stade de France, Dupont was given a starting position, a change from his usual role as a substitute.

Wearing the number 11 jersey, Dupont showcased his exceptional passing skills and ability to disrupt the opposition's rucks in the early stages of the game.

His impressive hand-off and offload set up a try for Rayan Rebbadj, followed by a crucial tackle on Kevon Williams that forced a turnover.

After making a significant impact, Dupont left the field with just two minutes remaining.

Despite the US scoring a late try through Marcus Tupuola, a missed conversion by Madison Hughes left the scores tied at 12-12.

The following pool match against Uruguay proved to be another closely contested game.

Antoine Zeghdar, a powerhouse for France, was a constant threat and also managed to score a fantastic individual try.

Uruguay, however, managed to stay in the game thanks to Ignacio Facciolo.

The moment everyone had been waiting for finally arrived when Dupont cleared up a Uruguayan grubber and set up Zeghdar for a run into open space.

Zeghdar's offload found Dupont in support, and the Toulouse player managed to muscle his way over the line, fending off Mateo Vinals in the process.

Shortly after, Zeghdar was substituted, and Juan Gonzalez took advantage of an error from the kick-off to bring Uruguay back into the game.

But Joseph scored France's third try, securing their qualification.

Dupont's presence drew a crowd of 69,000 at the Stade de France, with World Rugby expecting over half a million fans to attend the six days of sevens action.

The last time Dupont played at the stadium north of Paris was in a 29-28 defeat for France against South Africa in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final in October.

Dupont's decision to focus on making the Olympic team rather than participating in the Six Nations did not sit well with many traditionalists.

However, his appearance at the Paris Games is a major achievement not only for French rugby, but also for the organizers.