Who had Rugby thrown out of the Olympics?

Who holds the only gold medal for Rugby at the Olympic games?

With the World Cup semi between England and France looming, it is surely incumbent upon the English press to diminish the French by all means possible. This includes scouring the History books for stories of French Rugby's previous form. Here is my favorite Rugby tale.

Its 1924.

Rubgy is included in the Olympic games for the third games running. The final is to be in Paris, at the Stade Colombe. The finalists are France and America.

The American team comprises volunteers, mostly from Stanford University football and basketball teams. They have not played much Rugby before and the French expect the gold medal. The US team travel some 6,000 miles by boat to reach this game. In France prior to the match, every possible hardship is visited upon the American team. A TV crew documenting their progress is banned from the ground. The team are denied proper training facilities. They are banished to a local park where their personal belongings are promptly stolen as they train. They are roundly shunned and disrespected by every French person they come in contact with.

Matchday. 40,000 French fans fill the ground. Its the first final of the games and they expect the gold. They have sung their national anthem with tremendous vigor. They are proud to be French.

The Americans however are pissed off by the way they have been treated. They raise their game spectacularly and triumph. 17 - 3.

The French react badly. They start by knocking out Gideon Nelson, one of the American reserves, who is felled by a walking stick to the back of the head. The crowd then turn on the small pockets of American fans, beating them mercilessly. The heady brew of defeat and disappointment in the face of raging nationalism has turned the French crowd into a pack of rabid dogs. Broken American bodies are carried down to pitchside to be rushed to Hospital.

The star American player, Norman Cleaveland reported 'I thought they were dead. We were sure it was only a matter of time before they got to us.'

Rugby was thrown out of the Olympics.

Those who perpetuate the myth that 'rugby is a hooligans game played by gentlemen' should consider the French.

This incident may also help explain America's interest in the game of Rugby, despite being the only nation to hold double Olympic gold for Rugby. (America also won the Rubgy gold at the previous Olympics of 1920 in Antwerp, defeating France 8 - 0). America remain the Olympic champions of rugby, having never lost the gold.