Entering Wednesday’s match against Fiji, the United States Olympic rugby sevens team needed to either win, tie or lose by less than four points to advance to the quarterfinals and keep its gold medal hopes alive.
They lost by five.
A breakaway try by New England Patriots safety Nate Ebner with just over a minute remaining cut the U.S.’s deficit to 24-19, but Madison Hughes missed the ensuing conversion kick, and Fiji ran out the clock to secure the win and eliminate the Americans from medal contention.
Perry Baker and Danny Barrett were the other try-scorers for the U.S., and Hughes slotted two of his three conversions.
Fiji, which entered the tournament as the gold medal favorite, moves on to face New Zealand in the quarterfinals.
The U.S., meanwhile, will play at least one more game before heading home. It’ll face Brazil in the semifinals of the consolation bracket, with the winner of that game facing the winner of Spain-Kenya.
Team USA beat Brazil 26-0 on Tuesday night in pool play, with Ebner notching his first Olympic try in the win. Ebner is expected to rejoin the Patriots once the Olympic tournament concludes.
Thumbnail photo via Dan Powers/USA TODAY Sports Images
