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Rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics

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Rugby sevens
at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad
DatesAugust
← Inaugural event
←
1924 (Rugby fifteens)
2020 →

Rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro is scheduled to be held in August and the competition will take two days.[1] This is the first time 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 Januario 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 João Havelange Stadium(However this venue has been closed indefinitely according to the linked Wiki page (as of March 2013)) , which it would have to share with athletics competitions.[3]

Qualification

The International Rugby Board is currently undergoing review for a global structure of the sport and is seeking qualification criteria for the Games, which is awaiting input from the member states. Its primary task is to ensure a sustainable international development and it is working with the IOC to develop the qualification structure. It also seeks to have representation from every continent.[4]

Men's tournament

Means of qualification Date of completion Venue1 Berths Qualified
Host nation -X- –X- 01  Brasilien
2014–2015 IRB Sevens World Series Various 04
IRB Preliminary Competition/ Africa Various (home and away) 01
IRB Preliminary Competition/ Americas Various (home and away) 01
IRB Preliminary Competition/ Asia Various (home and away) 01
IRB Preliminary Competition/ Europe Various (home and away) 01
IRB Preliminary Competition/ Oceania Various (home and away) 01
IRB Preliminary Competition/ Intercontinental Various (home and away) 02
Total 12

Women's tournament

Means of qualification Date of completion Venue1 Berths Qualified
Host nation -X- –X- 01  Brasilien
2014–2015 IRB Women's Sevens World Series Various 04
IRB Preliminary Competition/ Africa Various (home and away) 01
IRB Preliminary Competition/ Americas Various (home and away) 01
IRB Preliminary Competition/ Aisa Various (home and away) 01
IRB Preliminary Competition/ Europe Various (home and away) 01
IRB Preliminary Competition/ Oceania Various (home and away) 01
IRB Preliminary Competition/ Intercontinental Various (home and away) 02
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.[5] Great Britain will get a chance to field a combined team.[6]

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, the IRB endorsed the concept of a united Great Britain team for the 2016 Games.[7]

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 IRB Sevens World Series and IRB Women's Sevens World 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 IRB Sevens; the IRB Women's Sevens began in 2012–2013 with England as one of the six core teams.[8] 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.[6]

Another issue was to make the automatic qualifier Brazil's team competitive.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Rugby sevens venue for Rio 2016 Olympics in doubt". insidethegames.biz. 1 November 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Rugby". Rio 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  3. ^ "Rio organizers forced to change 2016 rugby venue". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. 1 November 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  4. ^ "Official HSBC Sevens World Series - Rugby & the Olympics". Irbsevens.com. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  5. ^ "History of IRFU". Irish Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 27 August 2012. From 1874 to 1879 there were two Unions. The Irish Football Union had jurisdiction over Clubs in Leinster, Munster and parts of Ulster; the Northern Football Union of Ireland controlled the Belfast area. . . . In 1879 the two Unions agreed to amalgamate on the following terms:
    (i) A Union to be known as the Irish Rugby Football Union was to be formed for the whole country.
    (ii) Branches were to be formed in Leinster, Munster and Ulster.
    (iii) The Union was to be run by a Council of eighteen, made up of six from each province. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 278 (help)
  6. ^ a b Degun, Tom (25 May 2012). "Exclusive: UK Home Nations can qualify a British rugby sevens team for Rio 2016". insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  7. ^ "International Board backs British Olympic sevens team". BBC Sport. 6 April 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  8. ^ "IRB announces Women's Sevens World Series" (Press release). International Rugby Board. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  9. ^ "Lapasset Presents Plans for Rugby Sevens at Rio 2016". Aroundtherings.com. 2012-08-09. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
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