Ebner, who won a Super Bowl with the Patriots, now returns to his franchise with a new outlook on pressure situations and with added tackling techniques he is eager to try in the NFL.
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It was the first time rugby was part of the Olympic program in many years, which likely made it the first exposure to the sport for many watching in the United States.
Those missed points were crucial, as the Americans would have qualified for the medal round if they had lost to Fiji by a margin of less than four points.
He said he believes his time in rugby has had an impact both on him and on his friends and family, who told him they have enjoyed watching him in rugby as much as football.
The 27-year-old, who also worked on special teams to help the Patriots capture Super Bowl XLIX last year, was given permission by the team last March to chase his Olympic dream, making him the only National Football League player with a chance to capture gold in Brazil.
Bill Belichick and Patriots coaches wore Ebner T-shirts at practice, which was a nice gesture from the team. And no, American soccer did not instantly turn out to be an Olympic sport.
“It’s been awesome. I wouldn’t have done anything differently”, he said.
Ebner scored to assist the U.S. males’s rugby workforce to its first win of the 2016 Olympics on Tuesday – towards host Brazil, no much less. When the sport was last played at the Olympics in 1924, it was the 15-a-side version of the game, and the US won the gold medal.
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Perry Baker scored in the second half against Fiji, a burst of speed that caught the defense off guard, and Carlin Isles scored three tries in the later classification match against Brazil, a 24-12 win. There’s a real chance that the United States could win a medal.
