THE US stunned opponents with their victory at the season-ending London leg of the World Sevens Series on Sunday, which sent a reminder that Olympic medals next year will not be the preserve of traditional rugby powers.The US win was a boost for so-called "minnow" nations, showing the Olympic status of Sevens has spurred improvement across the board.The last time rugby was played at the Olympics was in Paris in 1924 and the US won gold that year. They could well emulate that feat in Rio in 2016 when rugby makes its Olympic return 92 years later.The US finished sixth on the overall standings, up from 13th the previous year, and will compete against Canada and several Caribbean nations in June to secure their place at the 2016 Rio Olympics.The four automatic qualification places on offer during the World Series were taken by Fiji, SA, New Zealand and England.The Americans moved ahead of traditional Sevens powers Samoa, Argentina and Wales, and came close to taking a top-five berth ahe...
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