There is a moment Stephen Parez-Edo Martin returns to often. It’s not the gold medal ceremony at Paris 2024, or the lap of honour in front of 70,000 delirious French supporters. It is a match played eight years earlier, thousands of miles away in Brazil, that first opened his eyes to what this team could become.

“The first match of the Rio Olympics in 2016 against Australia who were one of the world’s top four at the time and we beat them,” he recalls. “That victory made me realise we could go and win a medal, and it was at that moment that I understood that rugby sevens is something special that you can topple great nations in a single match.”

That single match in Rio lit the fuse. What followed was a journey that would culminate, eight years later, on home soil in Paris, with France claiming Olympic gold and cementing their status as a dominant force in 7s rugby. 

Now, as the HSBC SVNS World Championship arrives in Bordeaux this week, the home-town heroes prepare to perform in front of their own crowd for the first time since that golden period two summers ago. 

I shared much of my career with Parez-Edo Martin. We debuted in the same stadium, in Wellington, New Zealand, albeit a year apart. His story begins not in the spotlight of the Olympics, but in the relaxed, music-filled changing rooms of the ‘Cake Tin’ back in 2013, where a young debutant found himself in an environment unlike any he had experienced in sport.

“What struck me the most was the closeness, with opponents in the changing rooms and the atmosphere there, which was very different from what I was used to in 15s rugby,” he says. “It was a very relaxed vibe, with music, smiles, all while warming up and talking strategy.”

That carefree atmosphere belied the serious evolution quietly under way within the French programme. Over the following decade, the team transformed from enthusiastic adventurers into clinical professionals. “I think that, overall, we have become much more professional in the way we train and live together,” he reflects. 

“The game plan is clearer, more refined, and training sessions are far more precise and thought-out. We used to live more like globe-trotters than professionals, which, to be honest, is something I miss a little.”

While there is humour in this, there was a noticeable shift in the culture of the French team which we, as opponents, perceived. 

I remember in my early years the French could be seen at late-night pre-tournament parties, or living it up at the water park when other teams were training – and their performances probably reflected this attitude. 

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As a young player it would have been hard to give up the lure of a fun, easy life for one that might deliver something longer lasting.

But results speak for themselves. France came good at the right time in 2024, delivering their first World Series tournament win for 19 years, consistent circuit podiums, and then Paris the crowning glory of a generation.

Few events in recent French sporting history matched the emotional magnitude of the Paris 2024 Olympics. For the French sevens teams, playing at home was as much a burden as a blessing. The weight of a nation’s expectation was immense. 

But Parez-Edo Martin and the boys delivered, and the impact on the players who lived it has been profound and lasting.

“The Paris 2024 Olympics truly turned my life upside down,” Parez-Edo Martin admits. “It cost me a romantic relationship, but brought a lot of visibility, business opportunities, and new connections and that’s still true two years on. It’s incredible!” 

The medallists from Paris are more recognisable than they were before. I have told Parez-Edo Martin about the time I was mistaken for him in Singapore airport: an enthusiastic French rugby fan came rushing up to me asking for my autograph. 

“You play sevens?!” she said. “I used to,” I replied as I took out a pen. She looked slightly confused before saying, “Stephen could you sign this?!”. The penny dropped and I had to admit I was the British version of long-haired 7s playmakers.

But the recognition is perhaps not entirely what the boys would have hoped for. Parez-Edo Martin notes that sevens “still struggles to establish itself in the French sporting landscape”. 

In such a thriving rugby ecosystem, 7s still fights for its rightful place. But there has been a shift, one which will continue to be driven by future success.

“The French Sevens team has exceptional individuals,” he says, “but its strength lies in its collective spirit, its resilience, and above all its development pathway from scouting and talent identification through to sevens-specific training and recruitment.”

That pathway is now bearing its next generation of fruit. Among the faces drawing the most attention in the post-Paris era is Enahemo Artaud, the 22-year-old fly-half from US Carcassonne who has burst onto the circuit with breathtaking confidence and was named Rookie of the Year for the 2024-25 SVNS season. 

Artaud made his debut for France Sevens at the Dubai Sevens in the 2024-25 SVNS series. Parez-Edo Martin has watched his emergence with visible delight, describing him as “a very young leader who always brings a touch of humour off the pitch” – which is perhaps a quality Stephen saw more in his younger self as well.

Stephen is now in the old guard. A relative term in sevens alongside other experienced players like Antoine Zeghdar, “a player who unlocks a huge number of situations on the field,” as Parez-Edo Martin puts it, “and also brings a lot of energy to the team’s social life.” 

Leading it all, and the oldest of the old guard, is Paulin Riva, “the captain, the man who embodies selfless dedication by example.”

Together, this blend of seasoned gold medallists and hungry young talent gives France a squad that looks built not just for now, but for the long term. 

And the strategy is broader. The FFR have publicly declared their plans for this Olympic cycle: the ‘Objectif 2028’ list. 

In a joint agreement between the LNR – which runs the two men’s pro leagues – and FFR this group of players is made up this season of 17 players from Top 14 clubs and, for the first time, Pro D2 in a move to bolster the already thriving crop of sevens players in the French men’s squad.

And Parez-Edo Martin will have his eyes on being top of this list. But before I asked him to look ahead, I asked him to look back. 

Wonderfully, Parez-Edo Martin has been accompanied around the world at times by his father who is a sports photographer who will, no doubt, have a gallery dedicated to his son’s accolades. I asked if he could capture one moment to revisit what it would be. “My first entry in the Hong Kong Stadium against New Zealand in 2014”. 

I know this feeling. It’s amazing. It’s one I won’t have again but Parez-Edo Martin more than likely will.

While he is recovering from injury and won’t feature in his home event this week, he’ll be well-placed to assess the next crop coming through. However, he doesn’t intend to stay on the sidelines for long. 

“My next goal is to compete in both European championships in July, and more broadly, to become world champion and Olympic champion again in 2028”. 

Parez-Edo Martin already has plans to open his own restaurant as a chef upon retirement, but that will have to wait because the competitive spirit that was brought out of him 10 years ago is still very much alive.

Rugby sevens will return to France this week, some 22 months after Parez-Edo Martin and his teammates claimed gold in Paris and his message is clear and ambitious: “We want to win as many tournaments as possible and to win the tournament in Bordeaux, in June. I think we are not far from winning a tournament. We just have to be more consistent.” 

The key, he believes, is straightforward in principle if demanding in practice: “I think the secret to winning tournaments lies in playing a little more collectively.”