Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
The long wait is over at last – rugby is back in the Olympic Games. Today marked the return of the sport for the first time since 1924 and saw Rugby Sevens debuting.
In action were the twelve competing women’s teams. The Americas made up four of these countries with Canada, Colombia and the USA joining the host nation of Brazil.
The fortunes of the four countries was varied. Of the four only Colombia can be deemed to be out of the running for a medal. The two competing countries from North America appear to, as expected, be the Americas greatest prospect.
Canada is one of five countries to have confirmed it is still competing for Gold. Like the North Americans Australia, France, Great Britain and New Zealand all did enough on day one to seal their places in the Quarter Finals. Both Brazil and the USA will be looking to stay alive tomorrow.
Brazil
The host nation had a difficult day in Rio de Janeiro. Nearly signs, nonetheless, were positive. The Brazilian women started strongly against Great Britain. At the half way point of the opening match they were within a shot of victory.
A strong second half from Great Britain ended Brazil’s hopes though. A strong second half from the British saw them completing a 29-3 victory.
In their second match the South Americans faced the Pan American Gold Medalists, Canada. The North Americans proved themselves to be genuine medals contenders with a comprehensive performance. In a shut out result Canada won 38-0.
Colombia
Brazil’s north-western neighbors had the unenvied task of facing Australia and the USA. For a country very new to the sport the task was extremely challenging. Colombia’s athletes, nonetheless, gave it their all.
First up against for Las Tucanes was none other than the world number one Australians. The giants from Oceania demonstrated their superiority to underline themselves as the team to beat. Regardless, the 53-0 loss suffered by Colombia was lower than that of comparable fixtures in rugby sevens.
Game two for Las Tucanes was a battle of South America vs North America. The Colombians again failed to register a point against the strength of the USA. Like Australia, the Eagles demonstrated that they had come to play. The 48-0 defeat did feature improvements from Colombia.
Canada
The strongest performers from the Americas on day one was Canada. The North Americans notched up two wins from as many appearances to book their place in the Quarter Finals.
Prior to overcoming Brazil 38-0 the Canadians had played even better. Their opening victory over Japan was by an emphatic scoreline of 45-0. The combined performance sees Canada with a total of 83 points scored and zero conceded.
Yet to be confirmed is who Canada will be facing in the final eight. A win over Great Britain in the last remaining pool fixture would give them an easier path to a medal.
USA
Canada’s neighbor, the USA was not as impressive. The Eagles put in a mixed performance. While they were too powerful for Las Tucanes the day started with a loss.
First up for the USA women was a disappointing 12-7 defeat against Fiji. The Pacific Islanders demonstrated an impressive skill set to blow off the Eagles at the breakdown and deprive the North Americans of possession.
The win may have saved the USA from elimination. This will only be known on Sunday. A win over Australia would guarantee a Quarter Finals spot but, regardless, can advance depending on other results. Brazil vs Japan and Spain vs Kenya will contribute to the Eagles’ final position.
The respective positions after day one of the three pools are displayed below.
| # | Country | Pts |
| 1 | Australia | 6 |
| 2 | USA | 4 |
| 3 | Fiji | 4 |
| 4 | Colombia | 2 |
| # | Country | Pts |
| 1 | New Zealand | 6 |
| 2 | France | 6 |
| 3 | Spain | 2 |
| 4 | Kenya | 2 |
| # | Country | Pts |
| 1 | Canada | 6 |
| 2 | Great Britain | 6 |
| 3 | Brazil | 2 |
| 4 | Japan | 2 |
