The 22 international rugby sevens captains chasing their Olympic dreams were welcomed to the Principality of Monaco on Thursday by the Prince Albert II and the Princess Charlene of Monaco ahead of the start of the World Rugby Sevens Repechage. 

The event takes place from 21-23 June and will determine the final men's and women's qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Rugby Sevens competition. Monaco's Stade Louis II, which hosted the final qualifiers for the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, will once again be the venue for this crucial winner-takes-all event. 11 men's and 11 women's teams will compete in a very hard tournament, with only the winners securing a ticket to Paris. 

South Africa's Blitzboks, Olympic bronze medallists at Rio 2016, will be strong contenders after winning the first round of the SVNS 2024 in Dubai, but will face stiff competition from a line-up that includes HSBC SVNS 2024 teams Canada, Great Britain and Spain. In the women's tournament, the field is open with the Czech Republic making their debut and China looking confident after dominating the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024.

Participating teams: 

-Men's teams: Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Great Britain, Hong Kong China, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Tonga, Uganda (Argentina, Australia, Fiji, hosts France, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, New Zealand, Samoa, USA and Uruguay have already qualified).

-Women's teams: Argentina, China, Czech Republic, Hong Kong China, Kenya, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Poland, Samoa, Uganda (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Fiji, hosts France, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States have already qualified).

Poland and the Czech Republic will open the tournament on Friday 21 June at 13:00 local time (GMT+2). Pool play will continue throughout Friday and Saturday before the exciting final day on Sunday, which falls on Olympic Day - the global celebration of the Olympic Movement - begins with the quarter-finals at 09h30 local time, before the semi-finals at 14h22 and the all-important women's and men's finals at 18h01 and 18h36 respectively. 

South Africa men's player Impi Visser said: "We did ourselves no favours this time, but fortunately we have another chance and this time we have to go for it. Some of us were in Tokyo last time but we missed out on the podium, so in a way we have some unfinished business. But the reality is that we have to get the job done here before we think about anything else." 

Great Britain men's captain Robbie Fergusson pointed out, "We've got a couple of guys back who played in the last series in Madrid and we had a good week of training in London last week, so we're in a good place. If we can qualify, I think emotionally it would top the Tokyo Olympics with everything we've been through as Great Britain and to do it with this group would be huge." 

China's top women's consultant Gordon Tietjens said, "The Olympics is the dream and it comes down to a one-off tournament. You just have to play every game, tick the box and we'll do our very best. It has been a good season China. The coaching staff and the players themselves have done a really good job. They can be proud, but the sport can be ruthless at any time." 

World Rugby Chairman, Bill Beaumont commented, "The Olympic Games are the biggest multi-sport event and a stage like no other for rugby sevens. We expect to see some intense and passionate world-class rugby in Monaco over the three days as teams battle it out for the final Olympic spots. Our thanks to Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco and the Monegasque Rugby Federation for hosting this event for the third year running."