Paris Olympics 2024: Team GB fail to qualify for men's rugby sevens
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Updated 23/06/2024 at 18:56 GMT
Great Britain will not compete in the men's rugby sevens at the Paris Olympics after they lost to South Africa in the final of the repechage event in Monaco. It will be the first time Team GB have not competed in the event since its introduction to the Games in 2016. GB won silver at the 2016 Olympics in Rio but failed to qualify for Paris after a 14-5 defeat to South Africa in Sunday's final.
Max McFarland of Great Britain Men's National Team in action during day three of the World Rugby Sevens Repechage (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
Image credit: Getty Images
Team GB have failed to qualify for the men's rugby sevens event at the Paris Olympics, following a 14-5 defeat to South Africa in the final qualification event.
Sevens was introduced to the Olympic Games in 2016 and Britain claimed a silver medal in its debut year - losing to Fiji in the gold medal match 43-7.
Britain also lost the bronze medal match to Argentina at the Tokyo Olympics, but will now sit out of the event for the first time.
With just one spot at stake in the repechage qualification tournament in Monaco, Britain topped their group before seeing off Tonga and Spain to book a winner-takes-all showdown with South Africa.
South Africa asserted control early on through a Quewin Nortje try within two minutes.
Robbie Fergusson responded with a try shortly before the break, though an off-target conversion meant the Blitzboks retained a two-point lead.
The two-point disparity did not last long, however, as Shilton van Wyk raced through moments later to set up a comfortable, scoreless second half.
China won the women's repechage final.
Team GB's women had already secured qualification for the sevens event - which takes place from July 24-30.
They will face Australia, Ireland and South Africa in Pool B.
--
discovery+ is the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement