The Dakar 2026 Rugby Youth Olympic Games have concluded, with France and Kenya paying the highest honors in the capital of Senegal.
Marking the third iteration that the shorter format of rugby has taken part in the Youth Olympics, the quality of rugby on display โ particularly from up-and-coming rugby nations โ suggests that an exciting new generation of stars could be set to conquer the game in the coming years.
RugbyPass breaks down the key talking points after the tournament and where we can expect the next exciting new athletes.
Fun in the Dakar sun
Dakar marked the first time the Olympics in any format had ever come to the African continent โ โโand as evidenced by how the event unfolded, the city made a compelling case that more events should return.
The Iba Mar Diop complex proved to be the perfect setting for the rugby action, with 15 different nations clashing in tense contests over three days.
This led to a convincing climax, especially with local nations like South Africa in the men’s tournament and Kenya and Madagascar in the women’s tournament going deep into the finals and having good family and fan support.
It further adds to the growing narrative that Africa is an increasingly desirable location to host more rugby events, with Herbert Mensah, president of Rugby Africa, claiming earlier this year that the region is ready for more global events.
SVNS 2 was also a colossal success in Nairobi earlier this year โ with over 15,000 fans through the gates and the tournament is set to return to Kenya at a bigger venue in January next year โ while SVNS in Cape Town has also become an increasingly popular venue on the circuit.
With the successful hosting of Rugby Week in Dakar, such news is likely to further impress the World Rugby powerhouses to take more events to the region’s growing rugby hotspots.
The girls who lead Africa for the week are growing
Of particular note since Dakar was not only the arrival of several new nations that picked up medals, but the fact that every new nation standing on the podium was from Africa.
In the three iterations of rugby sevens played at the Youth Olympic Games, these events have traditionally been dominated by Australia, France and Argentina โ the latter two nations being the only ones to have won medals in all three events.
However, Dakar saw six different nations stand on the podiums in the men’s and women’s events โ with the other three from Africa.
Leading the charge was the Kenyan women’s side, the Rising Lionnesses, who after the fall Australia 17-5 in the pool stages saw them return to the semi-finals, then exact revenge by defeating the tournament favorites in the golden time, 17-12.
They were well supported by the rising rugby nation of Madagascar, who defeated the Czech Republic 26-10 to win bronze in the women’s competition โ making history for their nation’s first medal in any Olympic event.
The 2026 Youth Olympics also marked South Africa’s debut in the sevens tournament, with the reigning SVNS Series champions showing they have plenty of depth through the ranks, pushing France all the way in the final, but eventually losing 21-19.
Against some of the strongest rugby programs in the world, the powers that be in Kenya, Madagascar, South Africa and even similar other African nations that did not make the podium in Uganda and hosts Senegal they have good reason to leave Complexe Iba Mar Diop encouraged.
With all sides looking to push for the SVNS series and Olympic qualification, the form here suggests their programs are on the right track, with exciting talent in their ranks that have what it takes to compete against the best.
Challenge the guard
With the Youth Olympic Rugby Week having seen established talent go on to achieve success at the Olympics and SVNS Series levels, a tournament like Dakar should give fans the first signs of who to watch come Rugby Week.
The results should excite fans that the likes of Kenya and Madagascar can go deep, but also France, who look to be building an exciting new generation of men’s players who could challenge the likes of South Africa and New Zealand in the coming years.
Gaspard Laharrague and Matt Lefeuvre lead a strong contingent of players who played well for the French over the weekend and their defense was particularly strong.
South Africa will also take plenty of confidence from the weekend despite the silver medal, with Darnell Delport impressing in several games as his side outplayed the 2018 Youth Olympic champions. Argentina 24-12 in the semifinals.
Zain Hido, Josephine Kerubo and Mitchelle Chemtai are also names to remember from the Kenyan women’s side, who grew brilliantly into the tournament and stood up when needed to overcome fancied opposition Australia in the final.
The Australians will be bitterly disappointed to miss out on gold, but at least they will be confident that their sevens program continues to provide quality talent, with Darci Mackay and Grace Buchanan leading a strong team that performed well until the second half of the final.
The fact that the silver medal was the first for the Australian Youth Olympic freestyle team in Dakar is also something to recognize.
National awards await
Kenya captain Zain Hido spoke positively after the final about how much a gold medal like this will add to their program, opening many doors for future investment and opportunities.
Truth be told, while these players are still young, all signs point to these players making their debuts in the sevens and XV programs sooner rather than later.
Highly-rewarded sevens stars such as Australia’s Dominique du Toit, Canada’s Charity Williams and Argentina’s Marcos Moneta are among a long list of stars who have started playing in previous iterations of the tournament.
This extends to dual internationals such as Argentina’s Bautista Delguy and Lucio Cinti, as well as Wallaroo flyhalf Carys Dallinger and New Zealand dual international Risaleaana Pouri-Lane.
Although the stars who participated in the Dakar are not household names now, they will be players to watch out for as they begin to see exposure for their national teams. Watch them grow.
