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."