Team USA Rugby Sevens Falls To Ireland, Will Play Argentina For 7th
Jul 27, 2024, 8:05 AM
PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 25: Perry Baker #11 of Team United States goes past Tomas Etcheverry #3 of Team Uruguay during the Men's Rugby Sevens Pool C match between United States and Uruguay on Day -1 of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on July 25, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
PARIS, France – Team USA Rugby Sevens lost a heartbreaker to Ireland and will play for seventh instead of fifth.
The U.S. will play Argentina to close out its 2024 Paris Olympics run.
What a finish 🔥
Ireland win it with the clock in the red 🇮🇪#Paris2024 | #RugbySevens pic.twitter.com/KAUMWg9XRL
— Rugby Sevens (@SVNSSeries) July 27, 2024
Last Minute Try Boosts Ireland To Win Over Team USA
Ireland’s Hugo Lennox put his country out in front early with a first-minute try and made conversion.
Team USA and Ireland traded blows with neither side able to add to its score for the majority of the first half.
Then, just before the break, Aaron Cummings broke through to score the first try of the match for the U.S.
A made conversion kick from Stephen Tomasin evened the score at 7-7.
The second half was basically a mirror image of the first.
After four minutes of play, Perry Baker added to his historic Paris run by touching down his 10th try. With that score, Baker became the all-time leading men’s try scorer in Olympic history.
Out on his own 😎
USA Rugby legend @SpeedSt11ck is now the leading men’s try scorer in Olympic history 🔥#Paris2024 | #RugbySevens pic.twitter.com/R4KLnMpjeS
— Rugby Sevens (@SVNSSeries) July 27, 2024
Team USA looked to ride its momentum to a win and chance at a top-5 finish. But, Ireland wasn’t going to go down without a fight.
Two minutes later, Zac Ward made his way into the in-goal area for Ireland. The U.S. still had hope as they kept the lead following a missed conversion.
Trailing by two with no time on the clock, it became do-or-die time for Ireland.
As the game crept up on a full minute of extra time, Terry Kennedy found some space and scored the third try of the game to secure a 17-14 win.
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The 2024 Paris Olympics takes place Friday, July 26, through Sunday, August 11. The Paris Games are comprised of 329 events across 19 days, with 754 competitions and ceremonies for more than 10,000 athletes.
Find KSL Sports coverage of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics here.
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Chandler Holt is a co-host of the Jazz Notes podcast, a Locals In The NFL Insider, and Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com. Follow Chandler on Twitter @CHoltSports or on Threads @chandlerho1t.
