The U.S. men’s and women’s rugby sevens teams are favored to clinch 2016 Olympic berths at a North American Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) qualifying tournament in Cary, N.C., this weekend.
Rugby returns to the Olympics next year for the first time since 1924. The U.S. won the last two Olympic rugby tournaments in 1920, when there were two nations competing, and 1924, when there were three.
Back then, the Olympic rugby format was 15 players per side, without a separate women’s tournament.
In Cary, only the men’s and women’s champions Sunday will earn Olympic berths. The second- and third-place teams in Cary advance to a later last-chance global Olympic qualifying tournament.