In today’s episode of The Late Sub, host Claire Watkins breaks down the ins and outs of every NWSL quarterfinal, including who to keep on upset watch and what to expect tactically between the lines.
Then, Watkins sits down with 2024 Olympic bronze medalist rugby player Sammy Sullivan to chat about the future of rugby in the US. Sullivan digs into how she balances the rugby's newfound spotlight with the day-to-day grind of being a pro athlete, plus how fans can keep up with Team USA Rugby all year-round.
The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.
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Competing for the first time since Paris, Olympic bronze medalists USA Rugby will feature in Portlands's Premier Rugby Sevens All-Star Tournament next month.
The one-day event will pit Team USA against the PR7s All-Stars across multiple 14-minute matches.
"We anticipate this event to be a record-setting tournament for rugby fans in the US," said PR7s founder and CEO Owen Scannell. "Our PR7s All-Star format ensures high-level competition as the US national teams prepare to return to international competition... We’re thrilled to make history with USA Rugby."
Premier Rugby Sevens leads the sport
The USA Rugby-sanctioned PR7s is a 16-team touring league at the highest level of rugby sevens competition in the US. Since its 2021 launch, the league has also enshrined equal pay into its fiscal model. Boasting the sport's top domestic talent, PR7s next season will kick off in summer 2025.
PR7s was well-represented in Paris as a full 21 of the league's athletes found their way onto the Olympic podium. Five helped New Zealand win back-to-back gold and four boosted silver-medalists Canada to their best Olympic result yet. Plus, a full 12 of the 14 athletes on Team USA's bronze medal-winning roster have played on the PR7s pitch.
Harnessing Olympic success to grow US rugby
Next month's PR7s All-Star Tournament aims to capitalize on this summer's Olympic medal moment in growing the sport.
"This is a great opportunity for fans to see our Olympians back in action and for rugby to continue building momentum in the US with our partners at PR7s," said USA Rugby CEO Bill Goren on Tuesday.
Even before last summer's medal matches, the Paris Games' rugby sevens competition drew sold-out crowds of over 66,000 fans and built celebrity followings.
Team USA's bronze, the first Olympic medal ever won by the US in rugby sevens, sparked instant support for the sport domestically, from fans and investors alike. Only hours after the medal ceremony, the US team received a $4 million investment from women's sports owner and new rugby sevens fan Michele Kang to support a run to LA's 2028 podium.
The PR7s All-Star Tournament is the next step in the sport's domestic growth. Even more, it's the first competition where fans can celebrate their Olympic heroes on home soil.
How to buy tickets to the PR7s All-Star Tournament in Portland
The tournament kicks off at 5 PM ET on November 17th at Portland's Providence Park, with tickets available via SeatGeek.
With arguably the most dramatic finish at the Paris Olympics so far, Team USA made the rugby sevens podium for the first time in history by upsetting Australia 14-12 in Tuesday’s bronze medal match.
Following the Olympic debut of the women's game in 2016, the US had never finished higher than fifth place before Tuesday afternoon. They entered the day knowing they’d already secured at least fourth place after clinching a semifinal berth, where they fell to eventual back-to-back gold medalists New Zealand.
Stunning finish clinches Team USA's bronze
The underdog Women's Eagles Sevens faced Rio gold medalists Australia in the bronze medal match, going toe-to-toe to end the first half tied 7-7. After going down 12-7 with what looked like a game-winning try from Australian Maddison Levi, the US blasted a chaotic comeback in the last play of the game.
With 15 seconds left on the clock, Team USA’s Alex "Spiff" Sedrick pulled off an incredible 85-meter run to score a game-tying try as time expired. The try — alongside the two-point conversion attempt it earned — counted despite the clock running out because rugby, like American football, does not end a game mid-play.
Sedrick whipped in the subsequent conversion, ticking the final score up to 14-12 and securing her 2024 squad's place in the Olympic history books.
"It was crazy because I was like no way this is happening. [She’s] been an MVP for me this whole season," teammate and social media star Ilona Maher said of Sedrick after the match.
Medal marks turning point for USA rugby
Not only did today's game marked the first time any US rugby team has medaled in the Rugby Sevens event, it was also the first time the US has medaled in any Olympic rugby event since 1924.
But the historic hardware isn’t the only thing the US will bring home from Paris. The exposure — both from winning a medal and from an influx of support courtesy of celebrities and droves of newly minted fans — has rugby sevens grabbing the kind of attention that can boost a sport’s growth.
Investment in the sport was near-immediate. Mere hours after the US bagged bronze, trailblazing women's sports owner Michele Kang announced her $4 million donation to the team to grow the sport and support its players and staff in the leadup to the 2028 LA Olympics.
USA rugby sevens player Ariana Ramsey summed up the moment post-game: "We did a lot for our program just now. We are gonna bring out so many more fans now that we are actually winning. People are gonna want to see what rugby is about and learn more about our game."
Team USA's rugby squad will begin the hunt for their first-ever Olympic medal when the Paris Games’ rugby sevens tournament takes the pitch on Sunday.
This marks just the third time the Olympics have featured rugby sevens after its debut at the 2016 Rio Games.
How the Olympic rugby sevens tournament works
Unlike traditional rugby’s 15-player teams and 40-minute halves, rugby sevens consists of squads of seven battling it out through two seven-minute halves. Reflecting the sport’s sped-up nature, the Olympic rugby sevens tournament is played over just three consecutive days.
Twelve teams divided into three groups of four will compete in round-robin pool play to earn points — three for a win, two for a draw, and one for a loss — from Sunday, July 28th through the first half of Monday, July 29th.
The two teams with the most points in each group plus the next two overall best teams then advance to Monday afternoon's quarterfinals.
On Tuesday, July 30th, teams knocked out of the playoffs will face off in "placing" matches to achieve an official Olympic rating. These games are played concurrently with the semifinals before the bronze and gold medal contests close out the tournament.
Veterans lead Team USA's Olympic charge
The US is looking to improve on their fifth- and sixth-place finishes at Rio and Tokyo, respectively, and they’re banking on having the experience to do it.
Seven of Team USA's 12 players are Olympic veterans, with two — 33-year-olds Lauren Doyle and Alev Kelter — having competed in both of the sport’s previous Olympic showcases. Doyle and fellow Tokyo vet Naya Tapper co-captain the squad, which also features US rugby standout and TikTok star Ilona Maher.
However, to ascend their first-ever Olympic podium, the US will have to contend with the sport’s top teams — including Rio gold medalists Australia and Tokyo champs New Zealand. Plus, an especially hungry Team GB will be particularly tough to beat, as the current world No. 1 lookscto avenge their fourth-place finishes in 2016 and 2021.
How to watch the US rugby sevens squad
The US opens pool play against Japan at 10:30 AM ET before facing No. 40 Brazil at 2 PM ET on Sunday, July 28th, with live coverage on NBC platforms.
England claimed a fourth consecutive Six Nations Grand Slam, defeating France 24-12 in Bayonne on Saturday.
The victory marks England’s fourth Six Nations crown in seven years.
.@EnglandRugby claim the Grand Slam! 🏆
— TikTok Women's Six Nations (@Womens6Nations) April 30, 2022
A thoroughly impressive campaign from the dominant Red Roses 🌹#TikTokW6N | #FRAvENG | #SuperSaturday pic.twitter.com/zMfTRfVBbU
The Red Roses came from behind, recovering from an early France score to take the title. Sarah Bern and Abbie Ward converted two first-half tries to give England the advantage before Emily Scarratt’s penalty expanded The Red Roses’ lead.
England held on down the stretch to notch their 23rd Test victory in a row.
“Our forwards were phenomenal and got through so much work,” said Scarratt. “There are things to look at but now we want to celebrate it because it’s been a hard campaign.”
The Red Roses will now gear up for the World Cup, set to kick off in October.
International rugby competition Six Nations will not award prize money during this year’s women’s tournament.
Six Nations CEO Ben Morel insisted that any reward would widen the performance gap between the teams competing in the tournament. England is the only team in the tournament to award all its players professional contracts.
“We want to make sure that the weaker unions don’t get a further disadvantage on that, even if limited,” Morel said. “But at the same time, what each union does in terms of compensating and rewarding their players, they’re in a very different situation and all going on to the journey in their respective way.”
Per ITV, Work180, a workplace equity group, found the winners of the men’s 2020 Six Nations received roughly £5 million while the leading women’s team earned nothing.
Figures from the 2022 tournament are not available, but according to The Telegraph, a tenth of Six Nations’ annual revenue from the men’s competition, reportedly near £16 million, will be doled out to teams based on performance.
TikTok recently partnered with Six Nations as the competition’s title sponsor. Still, the women will not see any of the financial contributions from the social media company’s deal, the terms of which have not been been disclosed.
The women’s tournament will conclude Saturday in a matchup between England and France.
New Zealand claimed gold in rugby sevens, defeating France 26-12 on Saturday.
The victory served as redemption for New Zealand, who lost to Australia in the 2016 gold-medal game in Rio, the first Olympics for the sport.
“I will never forget the person I was when we won silver because I have had a complete change in the person I was then in order to win this gold,” New Zealand star Ruby Tui said after Saturday’s win.
No words fam🙏🏽
— Rubes Tui (@rubytui) July 31, 2021
Keep getting up and fighting your battles because you are worth it💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/Zb1cygTz3y
Fiji joined New Zealand and France on the podium after defeating Great Britain in the bronze-medal game.
The United States finished sixth, losing to Australia 17-7 in a game coach Chris Brown called a “missed opportunity.”
“And that guts me,” he said, “because we played nine quarterfinals over the last year, and it’s the first one we lost.”