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U.S. rugby teams qualify for Rio Olympics

The U.S. men’s and women’s rugby sevens teams qualified for the first Olympic rugby tournaments since 1924 by winning continental qualifying championships in Cary, N.C., on Sunday.

The U.S. men, who finished sixth in this past season’s World Series (with the top four nations earning Olympic spots), beat Canada 21-5 in the North American Caribbean Rugby Association (NACRA) Sevens Championship game.

The U.S. women, fifth in the World Series, topped Mexico 88-0 in its NACRA title game earlier Sunday. Canada’s women already qualified for the Olympics by finishing second in the World Series.

The NACRA winners joined the top four World Series nations in the 2016 Olympic rugby tournament, plus Olympic host Brazil and the South American continental qualifying winners (Argentina men, Colombia women).