Olympics Rugby Kicks Off Thursday
Olympics Rugby Kicks Off Thursday
The Olympic 7s rugby competition kicks off Wednesday with the men's pools on the pitch.
Rugby and soccer both start before Friday's Opening Ceremonies in order to squeeze everything in. This is potentially a good thing for the rugby competition because it's the only thing going on, so mainstream coverage (NBC/Peacock in the USA) will spend a lot of time on it.
Fans will get a bit more exposure to the game, and might become more long-term fans.
Who knows? Might happen.
Here are the pools:
Pool A: New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, Japan
Pool B: Argentina, Australia, Samoa, Kenya
Pool C: France, Fiji, USA, Uruguay
The USA is in a very tough pool with the two-time defending gold medal-winners in Fiji, and the host country in France. But there is a path to the quarterfinals even if they lose those games. See the video:
So even if a team goes 0-2 on Day One, the quarterfinals are in play on Day Two, and if the quarterfinals are in play, the semis are in play.
Referees: Ben Breakspear, Wales; Paulo Duarte, Portugal; Morné Ferreira, South Africa; Gianluca Gnecchi, Italy; Francisco González, Uruguay; Nick Hogan, New Zealand; AJ Jacobs, South Africa
Leading the USA is Perry Baker, who has scored an astonishing 300 tries in the World Rugby Sevens Series (SVNS). The ageless Baker was second in the World Series in tries this season with 30. Malacchi Esdale leads the USA with 112 carries this season and his 17 line breaks were good for second on the team. He has formed a nice partnership with Aaron Cummings, who assisted on sic of his 21 tries. Madison Hughes is the team's leading tackler, which is no surprise as he usually is. Matai Leuta joins the team for the first time in two years.
Schedule (all times eastern):
9:30AM Australia vs Samoa
10AM Argentina vs Kenta
10:30AM France vs USA
11AM Fiji vs Uruguay
11:30AM Ireland vs South Africa
12PM New Zealand vs Japan
1PM Australia vs Kenya
1:30PM Argentina vs Samoa
2PM France vs Uruguay
2:30PM France vs USA
3PM Ireland vs Japan
3:30PM New Zealand vs South Africa
