Olympic 7's in Tokyo

Rugby PickEm

Have you ever waited for something for FOUR whole years, just to have it pushed back a FIFTH additional year? The average person has trouble keeping their focus for a week or a month ... but the core 7's squad that have been living and training in Chula Vista are locked in and ready for a Global stage. For the Olympic athletes who have waited this long to represent their countries, I applaud your patience. Both USA 7's teams will compete in Tokyo later this summer for what is hands down the highest honor in 7's rugby ... a gold medal. So can the team outperform their finish in Rio? The men competed in pool A, losing to Argentina in a heartbreaker to open the tourney. They pummeled Brazil in their 2nd game, and battled with Fiji in their final game just to fall short. Their +18 point differential was one short to New Zealand in Group C. They won their consolation match, but never got a shot at the knockouts. They will be hungry in Tokyo for a better result. The women faired much better. They lost to Fiji by a mere 5 points, then smashed Colombia and tied eventual gold medalists Australia to close out pool play. They made the quarter finals and lost to eventual silver medalists New Zealand. They have shown on the HSBC tour that they can win finals and do it with style. They will be looking to be on the medal stand when the tourney wraps on July 31st. No fans in the stands will certainly be .... strange? I imagine it's not hard to get hyped up if you know that millions are watching over a live broadcast, but I still think the empty stand will be a bit ... eerie. Either way, you can be sure the entire USA rugby community will be backing their 7's team to represent us on the medal stand. PICKEM!