Rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics

This article deals with rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics. For rugby sevens at subsequent Summer Olympics, see Rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics. For the 15-a-side version of the game at the Olympics until discontinued in 1924, see Rugby union at the Summer Olympics. For the background to the re-introduction of rugby, see History of the efforts to re-include rugby into the Summer Olympics.

Rugby sevens at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad
Dates	August

Rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics is scheduled to be held in August in Rio de Janeiro. The competition will take two days.^[1] The 2016 Summer Olympics is the first time rugby sevens will be played at the Olympics, though rugby union was last played at the 1924 Summer Olympics.

Changes

Though rugby has not been featured in the Olympics since the 1924 Summer Olympics in any form, the IOC chose to re-introduce the seven-a-side version of the sport for the games.^[2] The sports will feature for at least this and the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Format

The usual laws of rugby sevens will apply.^[2]

Venue

The original plan to stage rugby matches at the São Januário Stadium will have to be scrapped because the club in charge of the venue missed the deadline to present its project. The Organising Committee revealed that they may now move the sport into the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange, which it would have to share with athletics competitions.^[3] It has since been announced that the rugby competition will take place in a temporary arena at the Deodoro Zone, shared with the modern pentathlon.

Qualification

Brazil men’s and women’s teams will automatically qualify for the events. Qualification will begin with the 2014–15 Sevens World Series (men's) and 2014–15 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series, where the 4 teams at the top of the standings will qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games. In June–September 2015, each of the six regional rugby unions will have an Olympic qualification event, where one team from each region will qualify. The final spot will be determined by a repechage tournament. It will comprise 16 teams from the regional qualifiers: 4 from Europe, 3 from Africa, 3 from Asia, 2 from Oceania, 2 from North America and 2 from South America.

To solve the problem of Great Britain competing as one union in the Olympics and as several in international rugby (England, Wales, Scotland), should one team qualify (England, Wales or Scotland) then Great Britain will be awarded a spot in the Olympic Games. The three British unions agreed in advance of the 2013–14 men's and women's Sevens World Series that their highest-finishing teams in that season would represent all three unions in the first stage of qualification in both 2014–15 series. The England men's and women's teams earned the right to represent the British unions in that stage of their respective competitions.^[4] Should either England team finish in the top four of its respective series in 2014–15, or any of the three British unions qualify in a later stage, the unions will then decide the composition of the Great Britain team. Northern Ireland is part of the Irish Rugby Football Union.^{[5] [6][7]}

The world governing body for the sport renamed itself from the International Rugby Board to World Rugby (WR) effective 19 November 2014.^[8]

Men's tournament

Means of qualification	Completed date	Venue	Berths	Qualified
Host nation	2 October 2009	Copenhagen, Denmark	1	Brazil
2014–15 Sevens World Series	17 May 2015	Various	4
2015 CONSUR Men's Sevens Championships	7 June 2015	Santa Fe, Argentina	1
2015 NACRA Men's Sevens Championships	14 June 2015	Cary, United States	1
2015 Rugby Europe Men's Sevens Championships	12 July 2015	Various	1
2015 ARFU Men's Sevens Championships	8 November 2015	Hong Kong	1
2015 CAR Men's Sevens Championships	8 November 2015	Kenya	1
2015 FORU Men's Sevens Championships	15 November 2015	Auckland, New Zealand	1
Final Olympic Qualification Tournament	TBA	TBA	1
Total			12

Women's tournament

Means of qualification	Completed date	Venue	Berths	Qualified
Host nation	2 October 2009	Copenhagen, Denmark	1	Brazil
2014–15 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series	23 May 2015	Various	4
2015 CONSUR Women's Sevens Championships	7 June 2015	Santa Fe, Argentina	1
2015 NACRA Women's Sevens Championships	14 June 2015	Cary, United States	1
2015 Rugby Europe Women's Sevens Championships	12 July 2015	Various	1
2015 CAR Women's Sevens Championships	27 September 2015	South Africa	1
2015 ARFU Women's Sevens Championships	8 November 2015	Hong Kong	1
2015 FORU Women's Sevens Championships	15 November 2015	Auckland, New Zealand	1
Final Olympic Qualification Tournament	TBA	TBA	1
Total			12

Competition schedule

The competition will run at an as yet unknown date in August.

Other issues

The international structure of rugby union with respect to Great Britain and Ireland is similar to that of association football, but with its own unique features. In football, the four Home Nations within the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) all field separate national teams, which led to a controversy over how to field a combined Great Britain football team at the 2012 Olympics. The Republic of Ireland fields its own national team in football. In rugby union, the three Home Nations that share the island of Great Britain also have their own national teams. Ireland, by contrast, is not divided for rugby purposes—the sport is organised on an All-Ireland basis, with a single governing body for the entire island.^[9] Great Britain will get a chance to field a combined team.^[10]

This structure led to some minor issues regarding participation of a Great Britain team in the qualifying stages of the 2016 Games. Due to a tradition of cooperation between the governing bodies of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales—especially during the quadrennial tours of the Southern Hemisphere by the unified British and Irish Lions 15-a-side team—these were far less contentious than in football; as early as 2011, World Rugby (then known as the International Rugby Board) endorsed the concept of a united Great Britain team for the 2016 Games.^[11]

In August 2012, a provisional plan was announced by which England, Scotland and Wales would all be able to qualify as a Great Britain sevens team for the 2016 Games. The first qualifying stage is planned to be the 2014–2015 men's Sevens World Series and World Rugby Women's Sevens Series, with the top four teams of each sex at the end of that season advancing to the Games. All three nations are "core teams" that participate in every event of the men's Sevens Series; the Women's Sevens Series began in 2012–2013 with England as one of the six core teams.^[12] Qualifying will continue with regional tournaments and a final worldwide Olympic qualifier. Should any of the three teams finish in a qualifying spot at any stage, Great Britain will send a team to the Games. The final composition of a Great Britain team would then be determined by the three nations and the British Olympic Association.^[10] However, in appearing to acquiesce to the IRFU’s demand that all Irish players regardless of whether they are British or Irish citizens play for Ireland rather the Great Britain, the British Olympic Association has demonstrated an inconsistency of approach and in view of its stance towards a GB football team.

As is the case with olympic boxing, rugby in Ireland is organised on an all-island basis. This means that Northern Irish players, despite the fact that they are residents of The UK, must play for the IRFU and thus must compete for Ireland.

Another issue was to make Brazil's automatically qualifying team competitive.^[13] In an attempt to address this for the women's tournament, the IRB announced in August 2013 that Brazil would be an invited core team in the Women's Sevens World Series for at least the 2013–14 season.^[14]

See also

• Rugby sevens at the 2015 Pan American Games
• Rugby union at the Summer Olympics (15-a-side Rugby union, 1900–1924)
• History of the efforts to re-include Rugby into the Summer Olympics
• Rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

External links

Qualification process

Rugby union at the Summer Olympics 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928–2012 2016 2020 List of medalists List of venues