Fresh from winning gold at their home Olympics, following on the heels of a first-ever series title in Los Angeles, the question for the FFR was: where will we find the players to help repeat the feat at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, and beyond?
The answer: largely among the players who have emerged from the Six Nations Unders tournaments.
For those who closely follow U20 competitions in the northern hemisphere, for example, the new names emerging in the sevens world will be familiar.
Among the women, Hawa Tounkara, a centre in XVs, was deservedly named the Player of the Series following her exceptional performances during the first edition of the Six Nations Summer Series last summer in Parma. Out in Italy, the Bleuettes scored no fewer than 198 points and 31 tries - all in three matches.
In the Summer Nations Series, contested primarily by U18 players, Tounkara featured alongside Kelly Arbey, Cléo Hagel, Suliana Sivi, and Léa Trollier. These five players were called up by the French women's rugby sevens team to launch the new Olympic cycle and quickly shone in their first tournament in Dubai on the weekend, claiming bronze. They are expected to continue their sevens adventure up until a likely return to XVs (for some, perhaps in next year's edition of the Guinness Women's Six Nations).
Objective 2028
Among the men, when the FFR and the National Rugby League (LNR) released their "Objective 2028" list, 14 players from 14 professional clubs appeared. Many of them have shone in the U20 Six Nations in recent years and have pursued parallel careers in sevens.
This is the case for La Rochelle winger Hoani Bosmorin, pictured below, who quickly established himself as a young talent to watch. In 2022, he started with the U18s, scoring six tries in four matches and winning the European Championship in sevens. In 2024, he rose through the age-grade ranks, featuring twice in the U20s Championship. Bosmorin confirmed his talent during the U20 World Cup in the summer of 2024, scoring two tries against Wales in the group stage.
Trained as a centre before moving to wing, Ethan Dumortier is another. A U20 world champion in 2019, the Lyon player has climbed the ranks in meteoric fashion. After debuting in the Top 14 with Lyon in 2019, he established himself as a key player for his club in the 2021-22 season. His performances earned him a first call-up to the French team in 2022, before shining in the 2023 Guinness Men's Six Nations with two tries in five starts. Named in the Top 14 team of the season, he was selected in the training squad for the 2023 World Cup.
Vannes winger Enzo Benmegal (21) participated twice in last year's U20 Six Nations (scoring once), while Bordeaux fly-half Matéo Garcia has five caps with the U20s (2021-2022).
Not on the "Objective 2028" list is Toulon's Joe Quere Karaba, a standout back rower in the 2024 U20 World Championship, but who was nevertheless called up as a reinforcement in the Cape Town leg of the sevens circuit to make his debut in the abbreviated code.
