The Australia Men's Sevens squad and captain Nick Malouf will enter the Olympic village looking to soak up the moment as they hunt for their first medal in program history.
Malouf will head to his third Olympics as the Aussies look to improve on an eight-place finish in Rio and a seventh-place finish in Tokyo.
Catch every game of the Paris 2024 Olympic Rugby Sevens on Stan Sport
On both occasions, the Australians struggled in the pool stages, needing results to go their way to qualify for their quarter-finals as one of the two highest third-place finishers.
Malouf is looking to avoid a similar feat and control their destiny in the quest for silverware.
“We’ve had some good chats around why we haven’t done as well at the pool stages and even reflecting on other big tournaments like the Commonwealth Games and World Cup," Malouf told Rugby.com.au on the eve of their departure to the village.
“I feel like we’re on the right path and we’ve had a really good prep. It’s now about us going out and executing.
“It leaves us really wanting to put our best foot forward because we know what we’re capable of. We’ve had a really good lead in the last couple of years and if we play our best Rugby then we’ll be amongst the medals.”
The squad have been based in Tours, two hours south of Paris, and have faced Ireland and Uruguay in warm-up games throughout their stay.
It's all designed to fast-track the acclimation process before Wednesday's (AEST) opening game against Samoa.
“It’s always hard when you’re playing against guys that know your plays or understand the way you want to attack but you can compensate and offset it," Malouf said.
“When we get the chance to go against defending a different style of attack and vice versa, that is not what we’re seeing every day, those are the pictures we’re going to get out at Stade de France.
“It’s good for us to able to adjust to different things, see them on the run and test ourselves.”
Malouf and Henry Hutchison are the lone players in the squad that have experienced the complete Olympic experience unaffected by COVID.
He tells the younger players to enjoy the adventure whilst understanding the importance of switching on at the right time.
“I’ve had different views on it as I’ve gone through but the third time now and previous experiences, it’s really important that you enjoy the village and soak it up at the right times," he explained.
“We’re going to have some time when we get there to experience the dining hall, get our kit, be amongst the Australian athletes and all the things that come with it. Where I think the difference lies for us is being able to really switch from that mode of enjoying things to knocking down when we get into training and match play.
“I don’t want the guys to feel like they’ve got to be completely serious the whole time. It’s important that we enjoy the different moments and we’ve been doing that well in Tours.”
