Bill Belichick wears USA Rugby jersey to practice
After Ebner’s score, USA Rugby got the ball back with one last chance to score. His aims in Rio are twofold: to win gold with “some of the toughest guys I’ve ever met” and to leave a long-lasting rugby legacy in the U.S.
Nate Ebner checked into his first Olympics rugby sevens match in the second half against Argentina on Tuesday in Deodoro Stadium, with a tall order.
As a member of the United States rugby team, Ebner was granted leave from the National Football League to compete in the Summer Olympics.
Rugby sevens is the fastest-growing women’s sport in the United States, according to an HSBC report, and there’s hope among the American rugby community that the exposure of the Olympics and NBC Sports’ partnership with Premiership Rugby – the top club rugby league in England – will continue to spur the sport’s growth. His special teams impact was so great at Ohio State that the Patriots drafted him in 2012. “I love this sport, and I want to see it have a tremendous success, but that’s up to the people back in the U.S. to embrace the game”. Former American shot putter Michael Carter won silver at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, just months before making his debut as a nose tackle for the San Francisco 49ers. He became a part of the Buckeyes’ special teams.
“Sevens and football are very different games”.
His cardio and aerobic capacities are off the charts – he doesn’t dare step on a scale – but he figures he’ll fit right back in at the Patriots’ training camp because playing Argentina and Brazil has helped prepare him to face the likes of the Jets and the Bills.
Asked about his first Olympic experience, Ebner said “It’s been a great experience, something I’ve never experienced before”.
“Things don’t go your way all the time, but we got the job done”.