TOKYO (AP) \u2014 For rugby sevens veterans like Perry Baker, competing in the Olympics can involve a fine balance between gamesmanship and showmanship.<\/b>
\nTOKYO (AP) \u2014 For rugby sevens veterans like Perry Baker, competing in the Olympics can involve a fine balance between gamesmanship and showmanship. Gamesmanship because his U.S. team is full of talented, athletic players, has been ranked as high as No.2 in the world sevens series and entered the Tokyo Games as a contender for an Olympic medal. Showmanship because they still need to market the sport in America. U.S. players including Perry, a two-time world sevens series player of the year, and Carlin Isles, the fastest man in the game, said an Olympic medal at the Tokyo Games would put rugby more firmly on the American sporting map. They were oh-so-close to making the medal rounds. The Americans were leading Britain 21-0 on Tuesday, with Baker touching down twice, until the 2016 Olympic silver medalists rallied with four unanswered tries to secure a spot in the semifinals. \u201cWe\u2019re gutted. Hugely gutted. Sevens is brutal \u2014 little moments, little referee calls go your way, don\u2019t go your way,\u201d U.S. coach Mike Friday said. \u201cThat\u2019s the difference between being in the medal rounds tomorrow or not. Unfortunately, we\u2019ve just fallen on the wrong side this evening.\u201d Defending champion Fiji, New Zealand, Britain and Argentina, all long-established rugby territory, will contest the Olympic semifinals on Wednesday. The best the U.S. men can finish now is fifth. It\u2019s an improvement from Rio de Janeiro five years ago, where they placed ninth when rugby sevens made its debut on the Olympic program. \u201cWe\u2019ve come from being no-hopers in 2014, to participating in 2016, to being contenders in Tokyo,\u201d Friday, who coached the England and Kenya national sevens teams before joining the U.S. program in 2014, said after the narrow loss to Britain. \u201cBut for a decision or two, or a bounce of the ball, we might be in the medal rounds.\u201d Friday agreed that an Olympic medal would give the game more traction in America. \u201cWe have been successful and we have moved forward, but let\u2019s not hide from the fact: In America, they\u2019re interested in gold, silver, bronze \u2014 predominantly gold,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s where they wanted to see us tomorrow (so)\u2026 I\u2019m immensely sorry.\u201d The U.S. team opened the Tokyo Olympics with wins over Kenya and Ireland on Monday. The Americans scored the first try against South Africa on Tuesday morning and went within inches of a try that could have put them ahead by 10 points, but they lost 19-12 to the 2016 Olympic bronze medalists to finish second in Pool C. The fast pace of the game, the open spaces on the field and the condensed time frame \u2014 each game comprises two seven-minute halves, and there\u2019s multiple matches in every session \u2014 have made sevens a popular alternative to 15-a-side. There will be a renewal of the U.S. program after Tokyo, with some players retiring and the search continuing for new talent. The 35-year-old Baker came through the American football system, signing with the Philadelphia Eagles before an injury cut short his NFL prospects. He switched to rugby and became the world sevens player of the year in back-to-back seasons in 2017 and \u201918. He said ahead of the Olympic tournament that the big appeal of sevens was the speed of the game which, unlike the traditional 15-a-side version of rugby, almost never stops. It\u2019s also the format of the game where the U.S. team has proved it can mix with the best in the world. \u201cI feel like we\u2019ve made that mark now where people know we\u2019re a threat,\u201d Baker said. \u201cI feel like we\u2019re up there with those top-tier teams. \u201cOnce we start winning, everyone wants to be part of a winning team.\u201d Madison Hughes, a co-captain of the team and now a two-time Olympian, remains confident for the future. He was asked after he\u2019d finished off a last-minute, length-of-the-field winning try against Kenya to explain the game\u2019s appeal. \u201cRugby sevens is just an absolutely incredible spectacle. It\u2019s so visual. The free-flowing elements of the ball flying it\u2019s so exciting,\u201d he said. \u201cParticularly in the Olympics, one of the best parts is that you don\u2019t really need to understand what\u2019s going on to enjoy it and get a lot out of it. \u201cRugby sevens, you just sit back, the ball is moving, there\u2019s big hits, big collisions. It\u2019s good to watch.\u201d For Hughes, building the brand of the U.S. team goes both ways. He is conscious that they need to convince people in the sport\u2019s traditional strongholds that America can be a force in the game. \u201cWe know that we\u2019re contenders and we know that we can beat anyone,\u201d he said. \u201cBut every time we get on the pitch, we\u2019ve got to prove that not only to ourselves, but to the rest of the world.\u201d ___ More AP Olympics: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/2020-tokyo-olympics and https:\/\/twitter.com\/AP_Sports Copyright \u00a9 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. 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