France overwhelmed Argentina – their recent antagonists – to reach the semi-finals of Olympics men’s sevens in front of an euphoric Parisian crowd.
London-born wing Aaron Grandidier scored two scintillating tries in a 26-14 victory for Les Bleus and led the jubilant celebrations at full-time with 70,000 supporters in the Stade de France.
French fans have been upset by the behaviour of Argentina’s footballers towards their nation.
Bad blood between the two countries’ football teams has developed – with Argentina judged to have celebrated their 2022 World Cup win too exuberantly and players recently filmed chanting what is a deemed a racist song against their French counterparts.
It led to Los Pumas being angrily booed when they ran out into the Stade de France before each of their matches at the Olympic event.
The atmosphere was ferocious in the early stages of Thursday’s quarter-final – and the intensity of the French players matched it.
“I know we’ve only just won a quarter-final but the emotions we’re living in this stadium we have never experienced,” Grandidier told BBC Sport.
“It is really moving. Having 69,000 people for a game of sevens has never been seen in history.”