US Rugby Team Makes Olympic Gains

Franklin’s Kristi Kirshe, and teammates Alev Kelter Lauren Doyle, Kayla Canett, Ilona Maher, Ariana Ramsey, Naya Tapperm Alena Olsen, Spiff Sedrick, Sammy Sullivan, Sarah Levy, and Steph Rovetti have been making a big impact in Paris.

According to published reports, Monday, the US team beat Great Britain, 17-7, in the quarter-finals with Kirshe playing a key role. The Brits were ahead early but Kirshe scored a try off the second-half restart helping the Eagles a 10-7 lead, and a conversion then made it 12-7.

Kirshe subsequently assisted on Sammy Sullivan's try to stretch the lead to 10 points. An NBC commentator reportedly called it, "the performance of [Kirshe's] life in an Olympic quarter-final."

Rugby has traditionally been plays as 15s but a more recent version of the game, 7s, has gained in popularity and first appeared in the Olympics in 2016 at Rio de Janiero.