Why was rugby dropped from the Olympic Games from 1924 ?
In 1924, there were only 3 rugby teams that played in the Olympic Games (USA, France and Romania). When the U.S. defeated France to win the Gold Medal in Paris, the pitch was invaded by angry French fans. The Medal ceremony took place under police protection (U.S. Gold, France Silver and Romania Bronze). That image, the inability to attract more teams and the departure of rugby supporter Baron Pierre De Courbetin as head of the Olympic Movement all combined to lay the death knell to Rugby as an Olympic sport until 2016.
