| Men's rugby union at the Games of the VII Olympiad | |||||||
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| Venue | Olympic Stadium | ||||||
| Date | September 5 | ||||||
| Competitors | 33 from 2 nations | ||||||
| Medalists | |||||||
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Rugby union at the 1920 Summer Olympics was played inAntwerp,Belgium. Two nations entered therugby union event at the1920 Summer Olympics —France and theUnited States. The French team were thought to be assured of the gold medal and came in as favourites in the event. However, the United States team surprised everyone when defeating France by eight points to nil.[1]
The rugby football Olympic tournament consisted of only one match. It was played between the United States and France. The US squad was made up ofAmerican football players from three California universities,Stanford,California, andSanta Clara. Due to American football becoming an increasingly violent sport, these and other West Coast universities chose to instead play rugby union from 1906–1914.[2][3][4]
On the other side, the French team was composed of rugby players from four clubs nearParis:Racing Club,Olympique,CASG [fr], andSCUF [fr]. This team is put together at the last minute with only 4 real international players, following the unexpected arrival of the American team and the withdrawal of other expected competitorsCzechoslovakia andRomania.[5][6] The British nations has announced long before the tournament that they wouldn't take part, the September schedule being too early for their teams to be competitive.[7]
United States playerRudy Scholz wrote about the match:
It started at 5 PM, (time here for all big matches) and there was a crowd of about 20,000 present, despite the fact it was raining. At a council of war we decided that because the ground was wet and slippery and the ball likewise, we would make it a forward game. The French tried a backfield game, and they lost although they were fast. The slippery ball and field proved their undoing...[8]
After the Olympic competition, a tour of France is organized forLes Californiens by theUnion des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques (USFSA). This tour includes 4 matches, the last one being a test match againstFrance.[6]
On 19 September, in Lyon, United States defeated a team representing the southeast of France 26–0. The American team also achieved a 11-3 victory againstStade Toulousain in Toulouse on 26 September in front of a 15,000 crowd[9] and a 6-3 victory against a southwest side at Bordeaux.[6]
The Anvers rematch is played on 11 October atStade de Colombes near Paris. United States is defeated by France 14–5, with 4 tries byEugène Billac [fr],François Borde,Raoul Got etAdolphe Jauréguy, against one byHarold von Schmidt.[8][10]
The US team againtoured England and France in 1924, playing three games in England as preparation for the1924 Olympic competition.[11][12]
United States  | 8–0 |  France XV |
| Try: Hunter Con: Templeton Pen: Templeton | Report |
| Olympic Stadium,Antwerp Attendance: 55,000[13] |
| Rank | Team | Matches | Points | Avg. | Tries | Avg tries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | United States | 1 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
 | France XV | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 | (none awarded) | |||||
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rugby union |  United States (USA)Trainer/Selector:Harry Maloney (did not play the game): | France (FRA) Édouard Bader (did not play the game): | none awarded |
Rugby Commissioner and President of the California Rugby Union, Harry Maloney, was coach and trainer of the team. He is also known for introducing and coachingrugby andsoccer at Stanford University for many years.
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