Golden Boy

THE LAST FEW MONTHS have been absolutely incredible, and I can honestly say that winning a gold medal in Rugby 7s at the Olympic Games, in front of tens of thousands of fans in Paris, has been the highlight of my life. The atmosphere in the Stade de France was unbelievable. Running out of the tunnel and onto the pitch, we couldn’t believe the number of people, all screaming and singing in French. It was completely surreal.

I had been focused on playing in the Paris Olympics ever since 2020, when we failed to qualify for the Tokyo Summer Games. Losing in the final of the repechage tournament to Ireland was devastating, and I really felt like I had failed. From that moment on, my goal was clear: to qualify and play in the next Olympics. With Paris as the host city, the ambition was even stronger—it was a chance to play at home.

The qualifying matches in July were a bit complicated; we didn’t play badly, but things didn’t always go our way. However, we did enough to get through to the knock-out stages, which was when every second counted. And then to win 28 to 7 against two-time Olympic champions, Fiji, was just the best feeling.

Rugby 7s follows the same basic concept as 15s; the pitch is the same size, but the games are much shorter (7 minutes per half), and it’s much more of a spectacle. The pace is faster, there’s more space, more tries, and more one-on-one duels. For people who don’t necessarily follow rugby union, it’s easier and more fun to watch.

I started playing 15s at A.S. Monaco Rugby when I was about 13. I spent a year at Stade Niçois in Nice before going to Toulon, as at the time, it was the only club in the region where you could play at an elite level. It was really hard to leave Monaco at age fourteen. I am very family-oriented and happy in my Monaco cocoon, but leaving gave me the chance to see other things and to create links with other people. That’s the great thing about rugby: it’s a really beautiful sport where you create strong bonds with your teammates. So, leaving was hard, but it allowed me to grow and mature.

My time at Toulon was a very positive experience. We were French champions in both the elite U18 category and the Espoirs (U23). I was also part of the French U20 team that won the World Cup in 2019. But between matches, there was a lot of downtime, and even then, I wasn’t getting much game time. That’s when the French Rugby Federation suggested I try Rugby 7s. I did a training camp with the national team and instantly loved it.

Rugby 7s is starting to gain more traction in France, and I’m sure our Olympic win will have helped propel it onto the national stage, especially as we were the first French team to win on the opening day of the Games. Until now, the biggest competition has been the international World Series, which consists of eight tournaments in countries like Dubai, South Africa, Australia, the U.S., and so forth. I’ve been incredibly lucky to see so much of the world through Rugby 7s.

Now, my career with Rugby 7s is giving me the opportunity to spend some precious time in Monaco. Before joining the 7s team full-time, I was playing 15s at Castres. However, I negotiated my contract to commit 100% to 7s for the year leading up to the Olympics. This allowed me to give my best performance, and it also meant I could be based in Monaco. I live and train here, and then travel to the Centre National de Rugby in Marcoussis, near Paris, for training weeks with the team.

For the coming year, I’m staying with 7s. I am still contracted to Castres, but I will only go back and play this season if they need me, for example, if they have lots of injuries on the team.

Now, at age 25, it’s been incredible to come back and be based in the Principality again. I get to be by the sea, near my family, in this beautiful country to which I owe so much. Monaco is the land of sport—it gave me the chance to try my hand at everything, from ping pong to Taekwondo. It also introduced me to rugby, for which I will always be grateful.

By Antoine Zeghdar

Contributor