The U.S. Olympic Rugby Team could hit gold – again – when the Olympics offer medals in the sport this summer for the first time since 1924. The traditional sport that fielded a total of 30 players and at times could resemble a riot has been transformed into a speedier, nimbler version with teams of seven. Rugby "Sevens" will be played in Rio and a speedy team from the U.S., the last country to win Olympic Gold in the sport 92 years ago, is a contender to repeat that feat, reports Phil Keoghan on the next edition of 60 MINUTES SPORTS, Tuesday, June 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME.
A big reason to be optimistic is Carlin Isles. The former sprinter wanted to race in the Olympics but fell just short to qualify for the 2012 Games. In Rugby Sevens, he’s the fastest player out there says Coach Mike Friday. "He’s immensely quick. He’s quicker than Usain Bolt," says the British-born U.S. coach, adding the important qualifier that Isles is faster over an initial 20 meter stretch than the world’s fastest human.
The key to the modified game of sevens is passing the ball and eluding the other team’s defenders using speed to take advantage of all that open field space. But tackling is just as important as ever, requiring the same aggression but more speed to catch the ball carrier.
The U.S. was happy to get a professional tackler to improve its chances in Rio. Nate Ebner has a $2.5 million contract to play safety and special teams for the football New England Patriots. They allowed him a leave of absence to vie for the gold. "Really thankful that I have the opportunity to not only go back to that first class organization, but to have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to chase a childhood dream of mine," says Ebner.
Another sign the team is a top contender in Rio is that they beat New Zealand’s famous All Blacks rugby team at sevens, not once, but twice. "Now we’ve earned the respect of the world. Everybody fears us," says Friday.
Rugby is growing in the U.S. A sports industry study calls it the fastest growing team sport in America. At any rate, it’s probably the fastest sport played with a ball. In sevens, there are just two periods of seven minutes each, with a two-minute break between them. Players are going all out to score in such limited time. "I don’t know how we do it," says Isles of the brutal games and workouts. Practice, he says, may make an onlooker think, "‘They trying to kill these people?’ And we got to keep going and going and going."
There is a certain advantage to all this running says Ebner. When he goes back to the NFL, he says, "I think, I’m not going to get tired – ever."
For more information contact:
60 MINUTES – Kevin Tedesco: 212-975-2329 / kev@cbsnews.com
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