RIO DE JANEIRO – Japan’s hopes of winning a medal in the first Olympic women’s rugby sevens tournament all but vanished Saturday as the Sakura Sevens finished the opening day of competition at Deodoro Stadium with two big defeats to their name.
On the day France’s Camille Grassineau became the first woman to score a try at the Olympics — the sport’s four previous appearances in the Games between 1900 and 1924 featured only men’s 15-a-side play — Japan was outpaced and outmuscled by Canada and Britain going down 45-0 and 40-0, respectively, in Pool C.
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