France's men's sevens team took gold at the European Championship on Sunday 26 July in Split, Croatia. Three weeks after an opening leg that ended in a final defeat to Germany, Les Bleus put things right, despite a laboured pool phase.

A title snatched after a poor pool stage

Nothing pointed to such an ending given how the tournament started, with one win and two defeats in the pool. But the men in blue were a different side in the knockout stage: Georgia swept aside 47-7, Spain seen off 22-0, then Italy smothered 43-0 in the final. Three knockout matches, no tries conceded in the last two, and a European title at the end of it.

Gagnac caps a full season

Nathan Gagnac was part of this reshuffled squad. A Mussidan product, the full-back has put together a complete season: a French sevens title with UBB Sevens, a full campaign at Langon and now a European crown, as Sud Ouest points out. He joins Massy this summer and will start his Nationale season on 22 August against CA Périgueux.

Les Bleues stopped in the quarter-finals

The weekend in Croatia was more frustrating for the France women’s team. Winners of the opening leg, a much younger Bleues side built around captain Margaux Dufros beat Turkey (41-5) and the Czech Republic (36-21) before losing to Ireland (33-0). In the quarter-final, they came up short against Germany despite plenty of chances.