A little over twenty-four hours later, and the last-second game-tying try from Alex ‘Spiff’ Sedrick the win still doesn’t feel real for the U.S. women’s rugby team. The jaw-dropping play won the bronze medal, the first ever rugby sevens medal for the United States – men’s or women’s.
NBCOlympics.com had the opportunity to speak with Sedrick, Ilona Maher, Sammy Sullivan and Naya Tapper after their historic win and the women recounted their version of the moment.
Sedrick’s last-second try
The game-tying try started when Spiff delivered a textbook perfect stiff arm to Teagan Levi.
“I was really surprised that I had broken the line just because you know, Australia is so good defensively and attack wise, just an excellent team all around,” Spiff said. “I was really surprised to get the line break, but I know as soon as I’m through I’m going to have all those gold jerseys chasing behind. Maddie Levi, give her another 10 meters or so, I think she would have got me. [Really I was] just trying to get over the line.”
Co-captain Tapper saw the game-winning play potentially coming Sedrick’s way. She and Maher were on the field at the time, while Sullivan was on the sideline. “We were receiving a kickoff and we knew they were going to kick deep because they had just scored. Myself and [Co-captain Lauren Doyle] in the pod [a formation rugby players use] were talking to Spiff, just to let her know they are gonna kick deep, and so getting prepared, to play out of the power zone.”
While Sedrick didn’t receive the ball straight off the kickoff, she did receive it from a pass two phases later from Ariana Ramsey.
Tapper: Spiff did exactly that, and as soon as she broke the line, I think a lot of us realized we needed to get with her just because they have some speedy players on their team that have a lot of determination, and so [I was] kind of just flying down the field to make sure we were there with her, um, if she needed us.
Sullivan: Well, as soon as I saw Spiff absolutely mollywop that girl to the ground, I was super hyped, and I know I trust and know Spiff’s speed. I had no doubt in my mind that she was going to go all the way 90 meters untouched.
Then, I was freaking out, excited. Kayla [Canett], was like, wait, she has to make the kick. So, then I was just stressed because I could see Spiff was just already celebrating like we had won.
Maher: I just remember, I kind of like saw it, Spiff doing it, and then she’s so fast I couldn’t keep up with her, but I started to jog, like, wait a minute, and it was kicking in because I was looking at the time, and I was like, wait a minute, this is happening, this is happening, I’m gonna get there, so I got there, and then, it was so exciting, I was like, we won, and then, we were all, we were all doing our math in our head, it’s 12 vs. 12, we need this one… so, with four seconds left, I passed the ball to Spiff and I was like, I was trying to be chill about it, you got it girl, it’s no problem. Easy peasy. But I was, I was pooping my pants.“
The game-winning kick
The hard work wasn’t done yet. Sedrick had only just tied the game — and that’s where things got interesting. The only thing standing between the Americans and bronze was a two-point conversion. Since time had expired as Sedrick scored, Australia would not have an opportunity to answer.
In rugby, the two-point conversion is not as much of a guarantee as the extra point in football (probably the closest comparison to how the scoring works). In rugby, wherever the ball is placed, the kicker must drop kick it in line with where the ball was touched down within 90 seconds of scoring.
For the U.S., normally veterans Alev Kelter or Canett kick the conversions. Alena Olsen was the only other American woman to kick for points during the Olympic tournament. By the time Sedrick scored, all three players were subbed out of the game. While any player can kick the conversion, teams typically rely on a few players who consider it a specialty skill. Enter Sedrick, but only one problem — she didn’t realize she, or anyone, needed to kick for the two points.
“Honestly, I thought we won when I scored, so I wasn’t really thinking about the conversion.”
Honestly, I thought we won when I scored, so I wasn’t really thinking about the conversion.
Thankfully, assistant coach Zack Test was on it.
“We were all celebrating,” Maher recounted. “Our assistant coach ran out and he was like, you need to take the kick because there’s no other kicker on the field. And I was like, yikes, I am not a kicker. But [Ilona] passed me the ball with four seconds left. Somehow, God willing, I slotted it. So, really happy about it.”
The 26-year-old makes it sound easy, but it’s really not, and she hadn’t attempted a kick all tournament.
Sullivan was caught by the NBC cameras saying, ‘shut up’, but it wasn’t because she was excited, as most watching thought.
“I was just telling myself like, okay, okay, shut up. Everyone be quiet. Everyone in the stadium be quiet for this kick.” She added, “[It’s] like rugby tradition, you kind of be respectful and don’t talk or make noise when the kicker goes. So, I was just telling my inner self, like, shut up. If I’m as quiet as possible, she will make this kick.”
Maher followed up: “Spiff made it and I mean, it was like… I think a lot of us don’t believe it’s real”
Celebrating bronze
You’d think after winning the first American medal in sevens Olympic history, the players might not take their medals off, but Maher had a good answer for why they weren’t wearing them.
“They’re very heavy, our necks kind of hurt.”
When asked if they had a special postgame meal to celebrate, Ilona immediately chimed in with, “I don’t think a lot of us have eaten afterwards.”
Sullivan had the best response. “Kayla and I in the [Olympic Village], they have pizza in the village dining hall, and we went up there and we were like, ‘Hey, can we just get a full pizza? We just won a medal.’ And they gave us a full margarita pizza. Yeah, we enjoyed our Coke Zero and margarita pizza in the Olympic Village dining hall.”
Naya chirped “get crazy” in response to Sullivan’s dinner.
Seddrick ended with, “I didn’t even eat dinner because I was like, I have to go see my family. And then when we got back to the village, I just laid on the floor for like 20 minutes.”
A fitting end after an exhilarating and legacy-defining day.
SEE MORE: Ilona Maher’s family reacts to Alex Sedrick’s incredible try
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