Reigning Olympic rugby champion the USA, back to defend the title after 92 years
The USA is the seventh country to join the lineup for the Rio 2016 rugby sevens competition, in both the men’s and women’s sections
The road to Rio: the United States' men's and women's teams celebrate their Rio 2016 qualifying victories (World Rugby)
The defending Olympic rugby champions are back! After a hiatus of 92 years, the sport returns to the Olympic programme in 2016 and the United States – who won the gold medal in the last Olympic rugby competition in Paris in 1924 – took the title of North American and Caribbean (NACRA) Rugby Sevens Champion this weekend in North Carolina in both the men’s and women’s categories, and guaranteed its place at the Rio 2016 Games.
The 2016 Olympics will be historic in more ways than one for rugby: as well as making a comeback after almost a century out of the Olympics, the sport has been redesigned for Rio de Janeiro as a seven-a-side event instead of the traditional 15-a-side, and for the first time ever, there will be a women’s rugby competition on the programme.
After hitting the post and missing out on the Olympic ticket by a single point in the final game of the World Series 2014/2015, the United States’ women’s team were determined to show that their confidence had not been knocked by the 15-14 defeat to Great Britain. At this weekend’s NACRA Championships they proved that they are still a force to be reckoned with, notching up 369 points and conceding just five over the course of six games. In the final on Sunday (14 June), they defeated rivals Mexico by a spectacular 88-0 to take the tournament trophy and a place at the Rio 2016 Games.
Despite missing out on the top spot, vice-champions Mexico are still in with a chance to compete at the Games, having secured the right to take part in next year’s Final Olympic Qualification Tournament alongside third-placed team, Trinidad and Tobago. The winner of this world tournament will be guaranteed a place at Rio 2016 to play alongside the United States and the other six teams that have already qualified for the women’s Olympic tournament: Brazil, Colombia, Australia, Canada, Great Britain and New Zealand.
In the World Series the USA's women's team hit the post, but they made up for their loss at the 2015 NACRA Rugby Sevens Championship (Photo: Martin Seras Lima/World Rugby)
Despite a comparatively tougher fight for the Olympic spot, the USA’s men's team also came away with an easy victory. They won all five of the matches they took part in and scored a 21-5 win over Canada in the final to take the title and join Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Great Britain, Fiji and New Zealand in the line-up for the men’s rugby tournament at Rio 2016. Canada and Mexico, in second and third place respectively, won a second chance at a coveted Olympic spot, qualifying for the Final Olympic Qualification Tournament in 2016.
With the North American and Caribbean Olympic rugby contenders now decided, more than half of the 12 vacancies for the Rio 2016 Olympic rugby sevens tournament have already been allocated. Four other continental champions (from Africa, Europe, Asia and Oceania) will qualify via competitions scheduled for the second half of 2015. After these, the final remaining Olympic spots will go to the men’s and women’s winners of the Final Olympic Qualification Tournament, which will be held in 2016. Brazil, as the host nation, is guaranteed a place in both the men’s and women’s competitions.
Scrum: United States go head-to-head for possession of the ball (Photo: Ken Ishii/Getty Images)
Rio2016.com is not an absolute authority on qualification for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which is an ongoing process. Final places will only be confirmed in July 2016 (for the Olympic Games) and August 2016 (for the Paralympic Games). The qualification systems are defined by each sport’s respective International Federation and the International Olympic Committee or International Paralympic Committee, and are subject to change. When an athlete or team wins a quota place for their nation, the final decision on whether this ‘slot’ is used and which athletes are sent is taken by the respective National Olympic Committee or National Paralympic Committee (NOC or NPC). Even when athletes win a ‘nominal’ place for themselves, NOCs/NPCs may have to decide who to send if the number of qualified athletes from one country exceeds the quota.
