Rugby union at the 1920 Summer Olympics was played in Antwerp, Belgium. Two nations entered the rugby union event at the 1920 Summer Olympics â France and the United States. The French team were thought to be assured of the gold medal and came in as favourites in the event. However, the United States team surprised everyone when defeating France by eight points to nil.
The rugby football Olympic tournament consisted of only one match. It was played between the United States and France. The US squad was made up of American football players from three California universities, Stanford, California, and Santa Clara. Due to American football becoming an increasingly violent sport, these and other West Coast universities chose to instead play rugby union from 1906âÂÂ1914.
On the other side, the French team was composed of rugby players from four clubs near Paris: Racing Club, Olympique, , and . This team is put together at the last minute with only 4 real international players, following the unexpected arrival of the American team and the withdrawal of other expected competitors Czechoslovakia and Romania. The British nations has announced long before the tournament that they wouldn't take part, the September schedule being too early for their teams to be competitive.
United States player Rudy Scholz wrote about the match:
After the Olympic competition, a tour of France is organized for ' by the (USFSA). This tour includes 4 matches, the last one being a test match against France.
On 19 September, in Lyon, United States defeated a team representing the southeast of France 26âÂÂ0. The American team also achieved a 11-3 victory against Stade Toulousain in Toulouse on 26 September in front of a 15,000 crowd and a 6-3 victory against a southwest side at Bordeaux.
The Anvers rematch is played on 11 October at Stade de Colombes near Paris. United States is defeated by France 14âÂÂ5, with 4 tries by , François Borde, Raoul Got et Adolphe Jauréguy, against one by Harold von Schmidt.
The US team again toured England and France in 1924, playing three games in England as preparation for the 1924 Olympic competition.
Rugby Commissioner and President of the California Rugby Union, Harry Maloney, was coach and trainer of the team. He is also known for introducing and coaching rugby and soccer at Stanford University for many years.