Twenty-two rugby players with team manager Sam Goodman, and coach C.A.Austin, landed in Plymouth from the steamship America to represent the United States in the Olympiad in Paris.
The actual Olympic contest will take place between May 11th and 18th, but teams will play several other games the first being Easter Monday with Devonport Services at The Rectory field, Devonport.

The visitors comprised, C.W.Doe, Jack Patrick, G.Dixon, E.LTurkington, A.T.Williams, L.Farish, J.J.Casbel, C.Slater, N.Slater, C.Manelli, J.F.ONeil, H.Cunningham, C.A, Austin, Sam Goodman, P.C.Clark, D.DeGroot, A.Cleveland, W.LRogers, Frank.Harland, E.Graf, R.G.Scholz, W.M.Muldoon, R.H.Devereau, and W.J.G.Hunter. At Plymouth Allen Valentine of Long Island and Swarthmore College, who is a Rhodes scholar at Oxford, joined them.
The American team has been selected from various parts of the United States, but the majority from California.
Doe, Patrick, C.Slater, O’Neil, Scholz, Muldoon and Hunter were members of the team which won the championship in the last Olympic games.
Manager Goodman said, "Man for man the heaviest that America had ever sent to the Olympic games. Their widths ranging from 200lb (deGroot) to 160lbs.
This weight was sure to count in the scrum formations, especially as the men were agile despite their bulk.” he explained that "after 6000 miles journey, and half of it in a train, the team could not be expected to be in peak condition. but they had kept as fit as possible on the liner by indulging in all sorts of exercises.
The players are anxious to get to work,” he continued "and we shall loose no time in indulging in practice from Mondays game".

At The Rectory.
The visitors were as good as their promise, and during the morning they changed and were soon indulging in what Captain Slater described as a "stiff workout at The Rectory ground"
A great part of the practice was spent in trying out passing rush formation, kicking and individual passing. Patrick plays full back and deGroot is the lock of the scrum. The
formation is very much on the New Zealand style of play.
The scrum is formed 2,3,2 with a wing forward. Doe is half back, Turkington and N. Slater wing forwards. Graf, O’Neil and Manelli are front rankers. Valentine, C.Slater (Capt) Clark and Muldoon, side rankers, Williams, Farish, Cashel rear rankers, Devereau, Hunter and
Cleveland, Cunningham 5/8ths, Hyland, Scholz, 3/4's, Rogers and Dixon wings

American rugby players

Impressions at Devonport

Services outplayed

About 6,000 spectators saw the American Olympic rugby team play their first match in England against Devonport Services at the Rectory yesterday morning and win a spirited game by 2 goals 5 tries (25 points) to one penalty try (3 points).
Unfortunately the Services could only command a weak side, but their display was sufficient for those present to gauge the capabilities of their visitors.
The Americans impressed as being a magnificent lot of athletes with great possibilities for the handling game. When on the run in a combined handling attack they showed plenty of dash and penetrating power, but generally these attacks emanated from a pick up in the loose rather than concerted action in the scrum. Their scrum work was feeble, and weak though the Services pack were, they heeled with far greater frequency than the Americans.
It did not appear that the Americans tried to do much heeling, relying rather on the heavy breakaway of their hefty forwards, who once they got away with a loose ball were dangerous.
There were only one or two occasions when the American backs got into action from heeling by the pack, and yet had the forwards done more heeling the side would probably been far more dangerous, possessing as they did back possessed of speed and skill when on the run.
Keen hard players
Probably the lack of heeling was in some measure due to the formation in the scrums, the forwards going down two, three, two with a wing forward. Every man had a definite position in the pack and did not vary from it.
Patrick, at full back, is a hefty fellow with a great kick, but he did not impress very strongly as a full back, and many English backs would have beaten him comfortably. But the Americans all showed themselves keen hard players, whether in attack or defence, and when they got the ball they knew how to go for the line. At times there appeared to be a certain degree of rawness, but this was probably due more to inexperience than inability. At any rate, they impressed as a fine lot of players, who should do well in the Olympic games after their experience on English soil before going to Paris.
Hyland in particular showed himself to be a very effective centre, scoring three fine tries.
Williams (2) and Rogers were the other scorers. Patrick kicking two goals. Stabb was awarded a penalty try when he was fouled early in the game with the line at his mercy.