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Trio help France secure Olympic women’s sevens qualification

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A trio of France Women’s XV’s side helped the team book their place at the Olympics in the final qualifier for the Rugby Sevens in Monaco.

A trio of France Women’s XV’s side helped the team book their place at the Olympics in the final qualifier for the Rugby Sevens in Monaco.

There were two spots available in Tokyo, with France one of the favourites to secure their spot, and Les Bleues did just that, with Carla Neisen, Jade Ulutule and Caroline Drouin all playing leading roles in doing so.

France were dominant throughout the competition, winning all three group games before comfortable wins over Colombia and Hong Kong in the knockout stages, not conceding a point across the five matches.

That was enough to earn a spot in Tokyo, alongside Russia, where they will join Great Britain, who had qualified in 2019 in the European qualifier.

Drouin, Ulutule and Neisen had been France’s first-choice midfield in the Women’s Six Nations, starting at fly-half and in the centres, respectively, for the final against England at the Twickenham Stoop.

And they all played their part in qualification, Drouin scoring one try and seven conversions across the two-day sevens event, while Ulutule got two tries and 13 conversions, and Neisen managed three tries including one in the final against Hong Kong.