USA favoured to win ticket to Rio – and defend 90-year-old Olympic title
The USA’s reputation as the most successful rugby nation in Olympic history will be on the line this weekend as the emerging force of the seven-a-side code attempt to book their tickets to Rio de Janeiro.
The USA’s reputation as the most successful rugby nation in Olympic history will be on the line this weekend as the emerging force of the seven-a-side code attempt to book their tickets to Rio de Janeiro.
Ninety-two years after a band of American amateurs upset France to claim the gold medal at the 1924 Paris Olympics, rugby returns to the Games next year after nearly a century’s absence.
It means the United States, who also won Olympic gold in 1920 but have become a second-tier rugby nation in the modern era, will have a title of sorts to defend when the Olympic sevens tournament kicks off in football-crazed Brazil.
London was good – something special for them to achieve. But we all know what the Olympic dream is. So if we don’t do a job in the qualifiers we won’t be where we want to be
First, however, the United States must make sure of their place in Rio, which they can do on Sunday if they triumph in the North America Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) Olympic qualifiers in North Carolina.
The biggest threat to American hopes is likely to come from Canada, for so long the dominant force in North American rugby.
However, recent results, including a remarkable victory in the London leg of the World Sevens Series, suggest the regional balance of power may have tilted towards the United States.
The triumph, which also included a 29-10 defeat of Canada, suggested that the idea of the Americans posing a threat to the likes of New Zealand and Fiji in Rio next year may not be so fanciful after all.
