What qualification to the 2016 Olympics means American rugby is hard to overstate - it means, well not everything, but close.

First of all, all of USA Rugby’s plans for the two 7s teams were all through 6:20pm ET on June 14. They had no plans after that, because everything, funding most of all, hinged on the Eagles booking a spot in Rio.

This was less of a worry for the women’s team, of course, as with Canada already qualified the Eagles had a fairly comfortable run through - they went 6-0 with an average score of 61.5 to 0.8. But it was certainly a concern for the men’s team, as they had to battle through Canada to win the NACRA Championship.

But if either team had failed to qualify, then funding and support from the US Olympic Committee would almost certainly have been cut. Yes the repechage would remain as one last chance, but that’s next year, and in between the Pan-Am Games and another World Series season awaits. With less funding and resources for either 7s team, USA Rugby would have to dig around to find funding to keep the program on track to win the repechage. No one wanted to be in that position.

Then there are the ancillary issues, television for one. Reports are that NBC is ready to build on its coverage of rugby, especially the national 7s teams, but those teams needed to be on the way to Rio. If Rio was on the horizon, then the Men’s Eagles 15s, and, one fervently hopes, the Women’s Eagles 15s, would benefit from greater exposure, too. 

So we haven’t even got into the fact that more athletes and fans will be drawn to the game thanks to Olympic inclusion. We haven’t touched on the overwhelming sense of relief washing over the organization, including the players and coaches.

That’s all relevant. But it comes down to money and big-time exposure, which means, of course, money. I get the feeling that the Canadian men’s program can survive the intense disappointment of not winning in Cary, and get the backing from Sport Canada, the Canadian Olympic Committee, and their Own the Podium program. They can rebound. I think the USA needed this - now - more. And they got it.