MONACO (AP) — Spain earned the last men's Olympic rugby sevens berth when it scored in the last seconds to upset Samoa 22-19 in the final qualifier on Sunday.
Spain came out of nowhere to complete the 12-team Olympic field.
Not a world series regular or even seeded in Monaco, the Spaniards lost a pool game to Hong Kong 19-0 on Saturday. But on Sunday they overcame Ireland 12-7 from 7-0 down in the quarterfinals, pipped Russia 17-12 with a last-minute try in the semifinals, and stunned the favored Samoans in the final.
Samoa, which won the world series stop in Paris last month, led 19-12 in the second half, but Spain cut the deficit to two points through a Pol Pla try.