Rugby at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Dates 5 – 5 September 1920
Medal Events 1

Rugby football has been an Olympic sport in 1900, 1908, 1920, and 1924, although it returns to the Olympics in 2016 in the form of rugby sevens. The 1920 tournament consisted of only two teams, the United States and France, so only one match was played, which was held at the Beerschot Stadium, the main Olympic Stadium in 1920. The USA squad was made up of American football players from California colleges, notably Stanford, California, and Santa Clara. The French team was composed of players from four clubs near Paris – Racing Club de France, Olympique Paris, Club Athlétique des Sports Généraux, and the Sporting Club Universitaire de Paris. In a major upset the United States won, 8-0, despite most of the players being fairly new to the sport of rugby football. The United States has never been considered a rugby power, but in 1924 at Paris, they would defend this gold medal.

Events

Event Status Date Participants NOCs
Rugby, Men Olympic 5 September 1920 31 2
31 (31/0) 2 (2/0)

Medals

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Rugby, Men United StatesUSA FranceFRA

Medal table

NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total
United States USA 1 0 0 1
France FRA 0 1 0 1