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World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont hailed rugby sevens successful introduction to the Olympics as a potential game-changer for the sports global popularity.The games abbreviated version was a smash hit in Rio as Fiji won their first ever Olympic medal by claiming the mens title and Australia won the womens competition.Research for World Rugby, the games governing body, has revealed the first Olympic rugby tournament since 1924 attracted nearly 17 million new fans in six core markets.Speaking to the Press Association at World Rugbys annual conference in London, Beaumont said: The Olympic tournament was a phenomenal success and we are already seeing the results at grass-roots.The key now is to build on the increased interest in our sport and well be spending 20 percent more on developing the game in the next four-year cycle -- sevens will be a massive part of that.Sevens can be a great introduction to 15-a-side rugby, and fifteens can be a great way into sevens, but we know sevens is the ideal vehicle to grow the game.The former England captain said his next challenge will be to make sure rugby sevens maintains its Olympic status, as it was introduced -- along with golf -- on a two-Games basis in 2009.Beaumont met senior International Olympic Committee staff in Japan last month when he was visiting the hosts of the next Rugby World Cup in 2019 and the next Summer Olympics a year later.A decision on whether to add rugby sevens to the core programme will be made by the IOC in Peru next September, with Beaumont confident that the IOC will approve the permanent addition of two 12-team tournaments for 2024 and beyond.We are not presumptuous about our place in the schedule at all but I think we delivered a great event in Rio, the 64-year-old Englishman said.Whenever I met an IOC member in a hotel restaurant or lift during the first week in Rio they would quickly look down at my accreditation to see who I was and usually say nothing. But after Fiji won, well, everybody wanted to congratulate me on the amazing tournament.World Rugbys Rio impact research was conducted by Nielsen Sports in Australia, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, and was based on online surveys before and after the Games.It found that Olympic status had grown the sports reach, particularly with women and the 18-24 age group. It also found that rugby outperformed other sports on the Olympic programme in terms of growth in interest after Rio 2016, with an average increase of 10 percent.In terms of the television, nearly four in 10 18-24s in the UK watched as Great Britains men claimed a silver medal and the women lost the bronze medal match in Rio, while World Rugbys social media fan-base grew by 670,000 during 2016. Tarik Cohen Jersey . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. 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Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. NEW ORLEANS -- The fortunes of the Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints have changed considerably in little more than a month, making their midseason meeting in the Superdome on Sunday all the more compelling.The defending champion Broncos (6-3) have dropped three of five and fallen out of first place in the AFC West since breaking out to a 4-0 start. The New Orleans Saints (4-4) have won four of five and climbed into second place in the NFC South since starting 0-3.I do not care what our record is. I do not care what their record is, Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. There is a reason that they are defending Super Bowl champs. ... This will be the best team that we have played thus far.The 37-year-old Brees , energized by a thriving, young receiver corps, has New Orleans atop the NFL in passing, averaging 324.6 yards per game. Denver boasts the leagues best pass defense, allowing a mere 183.3 yards per game. Those rankings make this matchup intriguing, but what makes the Saints a credible threat to Denver is the way theyve run the ball lately -- and the fact Denvers run defense ranks among the NFLs worst, at 29th.Last week, New Orleans racked up a whopping 248 yards rushing, with Mark Ingram gaining 158 yards and Tim Hightower 87.For Denvers coaching staff, trying to anticipate how Brees and the Saints offense might choose to attack this week is a tall order.Right now, when you watch them play, from a receivers standpoint, everybodys making plays. They have two tight ends going and the last two weeks the running games been going with two different backs, Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said. When youre getting ready to play people and looking at where the balls going and those types of things, its hard to zero in on anything because theyre so consistent and so unified throughout, because of everybody contributing and knowing whats going on.Some other things to know about the Broncos visit to New Orleans:MILLERS RUSHING: Denvers secondary has been banged-up recently, putting more pressure on Broncos pass rushers to make opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable. Thats where outside linebacker Von Miller comes in. Nine games into the season, Miller is averaging slightly better than a sack per game with 9+. Saints coach Sean Payton said Miller clearly is the best pass rusher in the NFL.He wins with speed. He wins with power. His get-off is outstanding, Payton said. He plays with leverage so he can convert speed and all of a sudden be underneeath and pushing you back into the pocket.dddddddddddd He plays the run well, hes a fantastic player.AIR TIME: Miller is feeling as much urgency to pressure Brees as any quarterback he has, or will, play against all season. He knows that giving the Saints record-setting QB too much time to throw is a sure recipe for a miserable afternoon. Brees has already passed for more than 300 yards in a game five times this season, and more than 400 yards twice.Drews the best passer in the league right now, Miller said. I mean, hes leading the league in passing yards and its not the first time he has done it, either.LEARNING CURVE: Denver rookie QB Trevor Siemian has hit a rough patch lately, completing fewer than half of his passes in last weeks loss to Oakland. But Denvers struggles on the ground havent helped, either. The Broncos have rushed for fewer than 100 yards in six of seven games, and just 33 yards last week .Were all a little frustrated, Siemian said. Guys are working hard and were not seeing it pay off on Sundays like we want it to, but we all have the right mentality and were going about things the right way.LIMITED LIABILITY: Currently, the Saints rank 30th in yards allowed per game (408.5) and points allowed per game (29.8). Theyre also last in yards passing allowed per game (300). However, the Saints defense has not allowed more than 23 points in any of New Orleans past three games. Two of New Orleans opponents in that stretch, Kansas City and Seattle, each scored defensive touchdowns. The unit is also getting healthier. Top cornerback Delvin Breaux and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, the clubs top draft choice last spring, returned from injuries last week.FAMILIAR SURROUNDINGS: Denvers defensive backfield includes two players, cornerbacks Lorenzo Doss and Taurean Nixon, from south Louisiana who played college football for Tulane in New Orleans. Kubiak called the pair, two good young players that this organizations counting on in the future.Obviously theyve been a big part of what weve been doing lately because weve had some secondary issues with Aqib (Talib) and Kayvon (Webster) being out, Kubiak noted. So, theyre two good kids who work their tails off, both very bright and just working hard for their opportunity.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '