France fall against New Zealand in Vancouver Sevens semi-finals

Antoine Dupont, aged 27, and his team from France suffered a narrow 28-26 loss to New Zealand in the semi-finals of the Vancouver SVNS on Sunday. This tournament marked the first appearance for the former Player of the Year with his country's sevens team.

Having secured a dramatic win against Ireland in the quarter-finals the day before, Dupont decided to skip the Six Nations in order to focus on winning Olympic gold in Paris later this year.

He entered the game as a substitute after France fell behind 21-12 due to a try by their opponents. Despite his efforts, the scrum-half only played for five minutes in the second half and was unable to prevent the defeat against the All Blacks.

New Zealand will now face Argentina in the final match later on Sunday. Dupont made his sevens debut coming off the bench during France's victories over the United States and Samoa in the pool stage on Friday.

He then scored his first try of the tournament during France's final Pool B win against Australia.

In the bronze medal match, France emerged victorious with a 42-12 win over the United States, securing third place in the tournament held at BC Place stadium.