Is there a chance for the USA Rugby Sevens squad to medal in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris? Examining their rivals and recent results
Coach Mike Friday of Team USA Men’s Rugby 7s is extremely optimistic about his team’s prospects going into tomorrow’s Paris Olympics 7s.
Although Friday acknowledges that they will face challenges in the group play, particularly with Fiji and France in the same pool, he is optimistic about his team’s ability to succeed.
He claims that because his team is youthful and athletic and has recently defeated both France and Fiji twice, anything is possible.
According to Friday, all they want is a medal of some kind.
He states that it is not unreasonable to aim for bronze, or perhaps even more, provided they get lucky and win a few pivotal moments; nevertheless, this also requires them to minimize their blunders and errors to the bare minimum.
The no-nonsense coach argues that because the games will be close and the atmosphere will be harsh, those small moments will matter a lot.
The United States’ first pool game is against France at 2.30 a.m. tomorrow; their next match is against Fiji at 6.30 a.m. tomorrow; and their last pool match is against Uruguay at 1 a.m. on Friday.
The Men’s Quarterfinals will begin on Friday at 7 a.m. The competition will resume on Sunday after a break on Saturday for the official inauguration of the Paris Olympics 2024. On Sunday, the semi-finals will begin at 1.30 a.m., and the final at 5.45 a.m.
The Men’s Rugby Sevens competition at the Paris Olympics begins on Wednesday, although the opening ceremony isn’t until Friday. Three of the twelve entries, Argentina, Uruguay, and the United States, represent the Americas. Los Teros and the Eagles are both capable of pulling off an upset, but Los Pumas is the betting favorite to win the medal.
Argentina, who placed first overall on the circuit this year but had to settle for second in the winner-take-all Madrid tournament under the new series format, is led by Santiago Alvarez. He joins Gastón Revol and Germán Schulz as the three Pumas returning for a third Olympic Games.
Rodrigo Isgró, the World Rugby 7s Player of the Year from the previous year, is listed as an alternate because of a suspension that prevents him from competing in the pool stages. Isgró would be competing in his second Olympic Games if called upon. Marcos Moneta, Matías Osadczuk, and Luciano González were also members of the team that placed third in Tokyo three years prior.
The USA will represent North America as the qualifier, with Canada losing out. The Eagles finished the circuit this year ranked ninth overall and were eliminated in the Tokyo quarterfinals. One of five athletes who competed in 2021, Kevon Williams leads the team in his second Olympic Games.
For Madison Hughes and Perry Baker, it’s their third Olympics, while for Matai Leuta, Stephen Tomasin, and Maka Unufe, it’s their second. Unufe was a member of the Rio 2016 roster, but an injury kept him out of Tokyo. Leading lineout forward Joe Schroeder was set to compete in his second Olympics, but an injury forced him to withdraw; Leuta was called up in his stead.
Uruguay qualified for the 2023–24 Sevens Series by winning a tournament in Madrid, but they were not included in the Sevens Series and instead played on the Challenger circuit. They qualified as South American representatives for this Olympic Games, their first, when Argentina’s top-four finish in the 2022–23 circuit guaranteed them a spot.
Diego Ardao leads the team as captain, and veteran playmaker Guillermo Lijtenstein assists with leadership on the field. A large portion of the team has also played test rugby for their nation. James McCubbin is considered a sevens expert, and other seasoned players in the abbreviated code include Bautista Basso, Felipe Arcos Pérez, and Mateo Viñals.
Champions of Madrid With international talent Antoine Dupont in the starting lineup, France is expected to be one of the tournament favorites. Former LA Giltinis flanker Harry McNulty heads overall circuit runners-up Ireland, while stalwart forwards Dylan Collier and Scott Curry lead a strong Fiji team led by sevens great Jerry Tuwai.
