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USA Men’s Rugby Eliminated In Rio – Ebner Shines
jcollingsworth via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The United State Rugby Sevens team was eliminated from medal contention in Rio today in Deodoro Stadium. They, in order to stay in contention, had to beat a powerful Fiji, draw, or lose by less than four points. They would lose 24-19.
Nate Ebner, the safety for the New England Patriots, and a walk-on star for The Ohio State University Buckeyes, who had taken a leave of absence from training camp to fulfill his Olympic dream, scored again in the rugby sevens tournament. He had scored earlier in the week against Brazil in an American blowout victory 26-0.
Team USA brought Wednesday’s match to the last possible moment when Ebner sprinted from almost halfway to score a try in the right corner to make it 24-19, piling on the pressure on Madison Hughes. But the US captain and goal-kicker missed the conversion from out wide, leaving the margin at five points – equating that the Americans missed out by the slimmest of margins.
“Tough game,” Ebner said. “That’s one of the best teams in the world. They’ve shown it year after year. We gave them everything we had. It just wasn’t enough, too little, too late. Hats off to them they played tremendously.”
The Americans must play again today (Wednesday), facing Brazil at 3 p.m. They can finish as high as ninth place.
“This is huge for the sport,” Ebner said. “We got here, and we gave it everything we had. Hopefully, the American people see how great of a sport this is. Really, it’s going to be up to the people in the United States and how they respond to what they’ve seen and kids getting out there playing. That’s what it comes down to ultimately. We’ll see what kind of effect that has.”
Pre-tournament favorites Fiji and New Zealand will now meet up in the rugby sevens quarterfinals; Japan is making an unlikely run to the playoffs at the Olympics.
New Zealand was able to advance in spite of losing to Japan in a stunning upset earlier this week. Fiji’s defeat of the Americans by enough points has aided I the forwarding of New Zealand.
In the other quarterfinals, Pool B winner South Africa will play No. 4 Australia — a rematch of their the last encounter in the group stage which the Australians won 12-5 — and Pool C winner Britain will play Argentina, and France plays Japan.
Nate will be returning to America and the Patriots training camp. “It was nice to pursue this dream of mine. I wish my Dad was here to see it. He introduced me to this wonderful sport. I love it. I am proud of this moment in my life. America did great. Rugby will soon be big in America just as it is in the rest of the world.”
The post USA Men’s Rugby Eliminated In Rio – Ebner Shines appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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jcollingsworth via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The United State Rugby Sevens team was eliminated from medal contention in Rio today in Deodoro Stadium. They, in order to stay in contention, had to beat a powerful Fiji, draw, or lose by less than four points. They would lose 24-19.
Nate Ebner, the safety for the New England Patriots, and a walk-on star for The Ohio State University Buckeyes, who had taken a leave of absence from training camp to fulfill his Olympic dream, scored again in the rugby sevens tournament. He had scored earlier in the week against Brazil in an American blowout victory 26-0.
Team USA brought Wednesday’s match to the last possible moment when Ebner sprinted from almost halfway to score a try in the right corner to make it 24-19, piling on the pressure on Madison Hughes. But the US captain and goal-kicker missed the conversion from out wide, leaving the margin at five points – equating that the Americans missed out by the slimmest of margins.
“Tough game,” Ebner said. “That’s one of the best teams in the world. They’ve shown it year after year. We gave them everything we had. It just wasn’t enough, too little, too late. Hats off to them they played tremendously.”
The Americans must play again today (Wednesday), facing Brazil at 3 p.m. They can finish as high as ninth place.
“This is huge for the sport,” Ebner said. “We got here, and we gave it everything we had. Hopefully, the American people see how great of a sport this is. Really, it’s going to be up to the people in the United States and how they respond to what they’ve seen and kids getting out there playing. That’s what it comes down to ultimately. We’ll see what kind of effect that has.”
Pre-tournament favorites Fiji and New Zealand will now meet up in the rugby sevens quarterfinals; Japan is making an unlikely run to the playoffs at the Olympics.
New Zealand was able to advance in spite of losing to Japan in a stunning upset earlier this week. Fiji’s defeat of the Americans by enough points has aided I the forwarding of New Zealand.
In the other quarterfinals, Pool B winner South Africa will play No. 4 Australia — a rematch of their the last encounter in the group stage which the Australians won 12-5 — and Pool C winner Britain will play Argentina, and France plays Japan.
Nate will be returning to America and the Patriots training camp. “It was nice to pursue this dream of mine. I wish my Dad was here to see it. He introduced me to this wonderful sport. I love it. I am proud of this moment in my life. America did great. Rugby will soon be big in America just as it is in the rest of the world.”
The post USA Men’s Rugby Eliminated In Rio – Ebner Shines appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
