Mont-de-Marsan, 16 August, Brass bands on the terraces, heat shimmering off the track at the André-&-Guy-Boniface, and seven-a-side rugby served at breakneck pace. Out of that heady mix stepped a red-and-white side with a point to prove: Monaco Rugby Sevens. They didn’t just win the first summer stop of the In Extenso Supersevens, they owned it.
The short story (told fast, like sevens)
Round of 16: Castres 0–43 Monaco, a statement opener that set the tone. Then in the Quarter-final: UBB 28-33 Monaco, past the defending stage winners from 2024 at this venue. Semi-final: Baabaas 14–17 Monaco, edging the reigning French champions in a tense finish.
And in the Final: Pau 5–29 Monaco, ruthless, clinical, done before the bands had packed up.
Who moved the scoreboard
Monaco’s imports did exactly what they were hired to do. Fijian flyer Iowane Teba and powerhouse Eroni Sau both featured prominently. Sau crossed in the final, and Teba’s touchline work drew oohs from the Mont-de-Marsan crowd. Photographers caught them all day; the Getty and IconSport reels read like a MR7 highlight tape.
Behind the fireworks, there was hard graft: Diego Ardao muscled up around the ruck, Gerado Jaars finished smartly, and Belgian finisher Gaspard Lalli, back after a long injury spell, provided the kind of punch that turns close games lopsided. Local reports and MR7’s own channels captured his emotion afterwards; a comeback day for the scrapbook.
Why this one matters
Monaco have won plenty of stages before, just not the first one of the summer. Tick that box. It also locks their ticket to the Paris finale at Paris La Défense Arena, pencilled for 7 February 2026, where the eight best from the August tourneys will scrap for the national title.
And the cast around them is interesting this year. A promoted USM Sapiac (Montauban) side impressed on debut, Jean Pénétro got a nod as a breakout, while the French Barbarians (Baabaas), champions in Paris last season, were reminded how thin the margins are. Oh, and yes: it was properly hot in the Landes.
The 2025–26 road map
The Supersevens keeps its crowd-pleasing format, three summer steps in the same corner of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, then the big show in winter: Mont-de-Marsan (16 Aug), Monaco’s win. Dax (23 Aug), Monaco did it again a week later for a back-to-back statement. Pau (30 Aug) will b the last stop before Paris.
Finale: Paris La Défense Arena, Feb 2026.
Bottom line: the bands played, the sun blazed, and Monaco looked like the most organised heavyweight in French rugby. If August is a preview, February in Nanterre could be loud.
