Our Rugby favorites for 2024: Les Bleus at 7, Dax, Toulouse – Leinster…

The Blues in 7 copies at the Olympics

The most significant sporting event of the year was necessarily the Olympic Games. A competition followed by the whole world, made even more intriguing by the fact that it took place in Paris. We therefore expected a lot from our rugby sevens players, who represented the oval with an extraordinary exposure. Given that the event began even before the opening ceremony, it benefited from particular visibility. Without suffering from competition from other disciplines, it has attracted the attention of the curious and impatient. And it must be emphasized that the Dupont gang gave a magnificent image of French rugby and shed a new light on rugby sevens in France. Millions of people have discovered this spectacular sport, yet sometimes neglected by spectators.

By winning the first gold medal for the French delegationthe Blues made an entire country happy. Beyond the sporting side, already very successful, the French rugby players were also good off the field. There was this victory dance, which made the rounds on TV and the internet the day after their victory in the final against Fiji. The Blues also conveyed an image of friendly athletes, adored within the French delegation. Rugby, for one summer, was not a niche sport but rather a discipline that brought together an entire country in good humor and performance.

Dax, a promotion in the final phase

We could have talked about Pro D2 by mentioning the historic rise of the Stade Nicewinner of the National championship against Narbonne. But how can we miss the authentic feat achieved by US Dax last season? While for many years, the gap seems significant between the divisions of French rugby and many teams are moving between National and Pro D2, the Dacquois have achieved the unthinkable : qualify for the final phase. Driven by a fury of the game and an extraordinary combativeness, the USD is the first promoted team in history to integrate the post-season games into the antechamber of the elite.

If the play-off against Grenoble was largely lost, the Landais never denied their game and continue to impress again this season. They are once again in the race for the final phase and prove to everyone that you can be promoted and give yourself the means to achieve your ambitions.

Toulouse – Leinster, anthology final

The Toulouse finals of 2024 made history. Authors of the Top 14/Champions Cup double, Ugo Mola's men showed themselves mercilessly, particularly in the championship, to inflict the biggest gap in the history of finals of Top 14 at UBB (59-3). Before that, there was an epic clash against Leinster in the Champions Cup. A meeting of an incredibly high level, ending in overtime (31-22).

In the middle of a nameless fight, which was similar to an international level match (and more particularly from France – Ireland), the Hauts-Garonnais have gleaned the sixth star in their history. It was Matthis Lebel, often very decisive in this competition, who scored his team's only try during this final. Thanks to this Toulouse success, the Champions Cup remained mainly in France, since Stade Rochelais had won the two previous editions. As it turns out, European rugby is dominated by French clubs.