Perry Baker at the podium – Credit: Kirby Lee/USA Today
Tournament Basics
- 68 total matches between July 24-30 with no matches on July 26 (Opening Ceremony)
- 12 teams will compete
- Three pools of four teams
- Top two teams in each pool advance as well as the next two overall finishers
- Teams that don’t advance will play for 9th-12th place
- Each team will play 5 or 6 matches
- A match can end in a tie in pool play
Men’s Pool
| Pool A | Pool B | Pool C |
| Ireland | Argentina | Fiji |
| Japan | Australia | France |
| New Zealand | Kenya | Uruguay |
| South Africa | Samoa | United States |
SEE MORE: How to watch rugby at the Paris Olympics: TV and stream schedule
U.S. Men Fast Facts
- First match will be July 24 at 10:30 a.m. ET on Peacock
- Will face Fiji on July 24 at 2:30 p.m. ET on Peacock and USA
- Finish pool play against Uruguay on July 25 at 9 a.m. ET on Peacock and USA
- Perry Baker announced he will retire after the Games
- Kevon Williams will serve as the captain
- Madison Hughes returns after scoring 32 points in Tokyo (third most among all players); Hughes stepped away from rugby after the 2020 Games but rejoined before the 2023-24 SVNS Series season.
- The 2024 Games mark the 100th anniversary of the U.S. winning gold in 1924, when rugby was played under 15s format
- The men finished sixth in Tokyo after losing the quarterfinals to Great Britain
Around the World
- Nine of the 12 teams competing in Paris are returning from Tokyo
- Samoa and Uruguay are making their Olympic debut
- After not qualifying for Tokyo, France is expected to contend for the gold medal
- Argentina won the 2023-24 World Rugby SVNS Series regular season title
- Fiji will look to defend its back-to-back gold medals
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