Team USA Women’s Rugby Sevens Defeats Britain In Quarter-Finals
Jul 29, 2024, 1:55 PM | Updated: Jul 30, 2024, 9:15 am
PARIS, France – Team USA Women’s Rugby Sevens overcame an early deficit to defeat Britain, 17-7, in the quarter-finals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The win marks the first time that Team USA has made the semi-finals in the Women’s Rugby Sevens event.
History made for the USA! They are into the semi-finals of the Olympics for the first time #Paris2024 | #RugbySevens pic.twitter.com/GcaL7daEuR
— Rugby Sevens (@SVNSSeries) July 29, 2024
Team USA
The tone was set very early on in the match between Team USA and Britain.
Britain kicked off to the U.S. and immediately swarmed the ball carrier. It led to an early turnover and they capitalized just as quickly.
Ellie Boatman touched the ball down in the in-goal area and Lisa Thomson buried the conversion kick to make it 7-0.
Down by a score, Team USA continued to get pressed. After surviving multiple Britain attacks, Naya Tapper found a gap in the defense and ran the length of the pitch to score the United States’ first try.
Naya on fire 🔥
Tapper with the pace on the wing to bring USA right back into it
GBR 7-5 USA#Paris2024 | #RugbySevens
— Rugby Sevens (@SVNSSeries) July 29, 2024
The conversion kick was missed, leaving the score at 7-5 going into halftime.
As the U.S. has done in each game thus far, Utah local Alex Sedrick checked in to start the second half.
With momentum slightly in the favor of the Eagles, they took off after the break.
It started with a Kristi Kirshe try just 30 seconds after play resumed. Kirshe assisted on another score about two minutes later. After getting met on the right side of the pitch, she dumped it off to Sammy Sullivan on the sideline who took it in for a 17-7 lead.
Team USA played hard-nosed defense down the stretch and locked Britain down to secure a spot in the semi-finals.
Follow The 2024 Summer Olympics With KSL Sports
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.
Chandler Holt is a co-host of the Jazz Notes podcast, a Locals In The NFL Insider, and Digital Sports Producer for KSLSports.com. Follow Chandler on Twitter @CHoltSports or on Threads @chandlerho1t.