Rugby union at the Summer Olympics
Encyclopedia
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
has been a men's medal sport at the modern Summer Olympic Games
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...
, being played at four of the first seven competitions. The sport debuted at the 1900 Paris games
1900 Summer Olympics
The 1900 Summer Olympics, today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1900 in Paris, France. No opening or closing ceremonies were held; competitions began on May 14 and ended on October 28. The Games were held as part of...
where the gold medal was won by the host nation. It was subsequently featured at the London games in 1908
1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...
, the Antwerp games in 1920
1920 Summer Olympics
The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium....
and the Paris games in 1924
1924 Summer Olympics
The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1924 in Paris, France...
. The United States
United States at the Olympics
The United States of America has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern Olympic Games, except the 1980 Summer Olympics, which it boycotted.The United States Olympic Committee is the National Olympic Committee for the United States....
is the most successful nation in Olympic rugby tournaments, having won the gold medal in both 1920 and 1924; France has the most medals, one gold (in 1900) and two silvers (in 1920 and 1924).
Shortly after the 1924 games, the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
(IOC) dropped rugby union as an Olympic sport. Since then there have been numerous attempts to bring the sport back to the Olympic program. The most recent effort has been to include the sevens
Rugby sevens
Rugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side or VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is administered by the International Rugby Board , the body responsible for rugby union worldwide...
version of the sport, which is played at similar competitions such as the Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
, and in October 2009 the IOC voted at its session
121st International Olympic Committee Session
The 121st International Olympic Committee Session was held on October 1–9, 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark, during which Rio de Janeiro was selected as the host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics...
in Copenhagen to include sevens in the 2016 Summer Olympics
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, are a major international multi-sport event to be celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games, as governed by the International Olympic Committee...
in Rio de Janeiro.
Inclusion
The sport was introduced by Pierre De CoubertinPierre de Coubertin
Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin was a French educationalist and historian, founder of the International Olympic Committee, and is considered the father of the modern Olympic Games...
, who is famous for reviving the modern Olympics. He also helped to establish rugby in France, refereeing the first domestic French club championship in 1892 and France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
's first international, on New Year’s Day, 1906, at Parc des Princes
Parc des Princes
The Parc des Princes is an all-seater football stadium located in the southwest of Paris, France. The venue, with a seating capacity of 48,712 spectators, has been the home of French football club Paris Saint-Germain since 1974. The current Parc des Princes was inaugurated on 4 June 1972, endowed...
. Coubertin formed the IOC in 1894, but rugby union was not featured until the II Olympiad.
1900
Three National Olympic CommitteeNational Olympic Committee
National Olympic Committees are the national constituents of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, they are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games...
s (NOCs), France, Germany and Great Britain, entered teams at the 1900 games. The German and British teams were not national teams in the current sense of the word: Moseley Wanderers RFC
Moseley Rugby Football Club
Moseley Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club, based at Billesley Common in Birmingham, that competes in the RFU Championship. The club was historically the premier rugby club in Birmingham, reaching the final of the John Player Cup three times in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
represented Great Britain and the Frankfurt Club represented Germany. Rules were also different from today's; 3 points, not 5, were awarded for tries
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
and 4, not 3, were given for a drop goal. Also, 4 points were awarded for a goal from mark
Goal from mark
A goal from mark is a former scoring move in rugby football. It occurred when a player "marked" the ball by making a fair catch and shouting "mark". From this position the player could not be tackled. The player then had the option of a free kick, which can be taken as a place, drop, or tap kick...
, which would be reduced to 3 points in 1905 and eliminated completely in 1977. Points for penalties and conversions, 3 and 2 respectively, were the same as in the modern game.
France won the gold, beating Great Britain 27 points to 8 and defeating Germany 27 points to 17. The final round robin match, between Germany and Britain was never played, as the teams were unable to stay in Paris until the scheduled match date. Other sources list the German team as second, because of the points difference, but no such determination was made in 1900. 6,000 people watched the game between France and Great Britain, which was the largest crowd at the games. Constantin Henriquez de Zubiera
Constantin Henriquez de Zubiera
Constantin Henriquez de Zubiera was a Haitian-born French rugby union footballer. He played as number eight, wing and centre.He played at Olympique de Paris and Stade Français...
, a player on the French team, is the first known coloured athlete to compete in the Olympic Games.
1908
1904 Summer Olympics
The 1904 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the III Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States from 1 July 1904, to November 23, 1904, at what is now known as Francis Field on the campus of Washington University...
in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, nor at the 1906 Intercalated Games
1906 Summer Olympics
The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Games in Athens" by the International Olympic Committee...
, but was included in 1908
1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...
, when the Olympics were held in the sport's native country. The Rugby Football Union
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
(RFU) was involved in the organization of the sport at this edition of the Olympics. Like the 1900 games, three teams entered: Australasia (representing Australia and New Zealand), France, and hosts Great Britain (which included the whole of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
). France pulled out prior to the commencement of the tournament, being unable to field a representative team. Australasia was represented by the Wallabies
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
, who were already on tour in Britain. As the best English and Welsh players were on tour in New Zealand at the time, Great Britain was represented by the Cornwall
Cornish rugby
Rugby union in Cornwall is one of the Duchy's most popular sports.-CRFU:The Cornwall Rugby Football Union was formed in 1883. It is a union of 39 rugby union clubs which includes every rugby union club in Cornwall, the open age Cornwall representative side and representative teams at various age...
county team, who were chosen by the RFU as an appropriate side after they defeated Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
in the 1907 English county championship. The choice of Cornwall was controversial, as only three of their players had ever represented England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
and the Wallabies had defeated them 18 points to five.
As expected, Australasia defeated Great Britain, claiming the gold medal, the score being 32 points to three. The match at the White City Stadium was played under poor conditions, in fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
and on a slippery field. Two of the Australian team members would later win another Olympic gold medal. Danny Carroll
Danny Carroll
Daniel Carroll is a retired English football player.-Career:Carroll started his career at Tooting & Mitcham then moved onto Bromley F.C...
would win another rugby gold with the United States in 1920
1920 Summer Olympics
The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium....
, while Sydney Middleton
Sydney Middleton
Sydney Albert 'Syd' Middleton DSO, OBE was an Australian Army officer and national representative rugby union player and rower. He won a gold medal in rugby at the 1908 Summer Olympics and competed in rowing at the 1912 Summer Olympics. He had a distinguished career in World War I being awarded...
would win a gold medal in rowing
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
at the 1912 Games
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 5 May and 27 July 1912. Twenty-eight nations and 2,407 competitors, including 48 women, competed in 102 events in 14 sports...
, where rugby was not on the program. The sport also failed to appear on the provisional schedule of the 1916 Summer Olympics
1916 Summer Olympics
The anticipated 1916 Summer Olympics, which were to be officially known as the Games of the VI Olympiad, were to have been held in Berlin, Germany. However, due to the outbreak of World War I, the games were cancelled.-History:...
, which were canceled due to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
1920
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
after a rugby union Cal-Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
touring party returned from British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
undefeated in 1920. The United States Olympic Committee
United States Olympic Committee
The United States Olympic Committee is a non-profit organization that serves as the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States and coordinates the relationship between the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency and various...
(USOC) granted permission for entry. A pool of players from Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, Cal-Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
and Santa Clara
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University is a private, not-for-profit, Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California, United States. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus , whose...
made up the squad. 1908 champion Danny Carroll, a player-coach at Stanford at the time, was the team's most prominent member. When the U.S. arrived in Antwerp, the Czechoslovakian
Rugby union in Czechoslovakia
Rugby union in Czechoslovakia was a moderately popular sport. It was most popular in Moravia , Prague and Bratislava-Governing body:Czechoslovakia was a founder member of FIRA in 1934, and joined the IRB in 1988....
and Romanian
Rugby union in Romania
Rugby union is a fairly popular team sport played in Romania with a tradition of more than 90 years. Romania's men's national team was 18th in the IRB World Rankings as of July 2011. -Governing body:...
teams had withdrawn, leaving only France and the United States. The English RFU had decided not to enter a team, so as not to interfere with the start of the English domestic season.
The only match was played in rain in front of around 20,000 spectators. The U.S., featuring many players new to the sport of rugby, caused a shock by winning the only match eight points to zero, all points being scored in the second half. One of the U.S. team members, Morris Kirksey
Morris Kirksey
Morris Marshall Kirksey was an American track and field athlete and rugby union footballer who won two gold medals at the 1920 Summer Olympics...
, took home two more medals from Antwerp, finishing second to Charles Paddock in the 100 meters dash, and anchoring the winning 4 × 100 meters relay team.
1924
The sport was again included in the subsequent 1924 games in Paris. The USOC decided to send a team in order to defend their gold medal. Along with the U.S. and the host nation, Romania entered. The American team was again made up of mainly Californian players, seven of whom were members of the 1920 team. The U.S. squad departed on a seven-day voyage to England on an ocean linerOcean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
The U.S. defeated Romania 37 to 0 in front of a crowd of 6,000. France then defeated Romania 61 to 3 and entered the final game as favorites. The gold medal game was played on 18 May in front of 21,000 spectators at the Colombes venue, which had a large wire fence built around the field for the game. The U.S. defeated France 17 to 3, becoming the only team to win gold twice in the sport. At the final whistle the pitch was invaded and the French team, aided by the police, did their best to protect their opponents. The medal ceremony took place with police protection – gold for the U.S., silver for France, and bronze for Romania.
Rare vintage footage of the 1924 Gold Medal match was included in the rugby documentary, A Giant Awakens: the Rise of American Rugby.
Exclusion
The pitch invasion at the 1924 Paris Olympics had given rugby a poor image and this, together with the problems of attracting sufficient teams to make it a viable sport and the desire to include more individual and women's events, spelled the death knell for rugby at the Olympics.Baron Pierre De Coubertin stepped down as head of the Olympic Movement after 1925 and with his departure the sport lost one of its major advocates. In 1928 the IOC turned down a request to stage rugby at the Amsterdam games. An exhibition tournament was held at the 1936 Berlin Games
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
, with France, Germany, Italy and Romania competing. In what was, to date, the last rugby match played at the Olympics, France beat Germany in the final 19 to 14.
In 1976, 22 African countries and Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
boycotted the 1976 Summer Olympics
1976 Summer Olympics
The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, after their demand to have New Zealand excluded was not met. A New Zealand rugby team had toured South Africa, which had been banned from the Olympics since 1964 because of its apartheid politics. Rugby union not being an Olympic sport, the IOC declined to exclude New Zealand.
Efforts for re-inclusion
1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...
, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1980
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
, and South Korea in 1988
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...
made requests to have rugby union brought back. The 1980 request did not pass, and the 1988 games came close but failed to see the sport's admission, which was backed by the International Rugby Football Board
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
(now, International Rugby Board, IRB).
Apart from supporting the individual host cities' requests, the IRB did not focus its own efforts on returning the sport to the Olympics until the early 1990s, when efforts began to reunite the two movements with a series of informal meetings between the then IRB Secretary, Keith Rowlands, and the British Olympic Association Secretary, Dick Palmer. In 1994, when Vernon Pugh QC of Wales was elected Chairman of the IRB, the march towards Olympic recognition began in earnest. Pugh convinced the IRB Council that Olympic membership – initially as a non-participation sport – would be beneficial to rugby and offer the IRB member unions membership of their National Olympic Committees. Many European Federations, such as France, Italy and Romania, had been members of their National Olympic Committees for decades. The demand to get rugby back in the Olympics mounted as more rugby nations from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas joined the IRB, because it was a sport seen as providing a realistic medal opportunity for a number of smaller nations.
A significant step in the process of acceptance back into the Olympic Movement was achieved at a ceremony held in Cardiff in November 1994, when the IRB was officially confirmed as a Recognised International Federation of the IOC. At that ceremony, International Olympic Committee President, Juan-Antonio Samaranch, pointed out that rugby's history and values were very much in tune with the Olympic philosophy and traditions. This historic meeting in Cardiff led to IRB representation at annual IOC meetings and consideration for inclusion in the program of future Olympic Games. In 2002, a plan was presented to induct rugby sevens, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
and the Chinese martial art of wushu
Wushu (sport)
The sport of wushu is both an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. It was created in the People's Republic of China after 1949, in an attempt to nationalize the practice of traditional Chinese martial arts...
.
Sevens was one of five sports that submitted a proposal to the IOC at a meeting in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
for inclusion in the 2012 games
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
. The IOC stated that no sport would be added unless others were dropped. The IRB was confident that the sport would finally be included in the official Olympic program. However, the selection of two sports out of the five nominees as potential 2012 sports went to squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
and karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
, as determined by a voting procedure.
Most recently, rugby sevens
Rugby sevens
Rugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side or VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is administered by the International Rugby Board , the body responsible for rugby union worldwide...
competed with golf for two available spaces in the 2016 Olympics. The final decision was made at the IOC Session in Copenhagen in October 2009. The IRB used a number of high profile people and events to influence the IOC to include sevens at the 2016 games. In March 2009, two senior delegates from the IOC attended the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai at the invitation of the IRB. The event attracted 78,000 fans over the three days and saw Wales crowned Men’s World Champions and Australia won the first ever Women's World Cup.
Along with the World Cup, the IRB enlisted some of rugby’s biggest names to assist in the bid. In March 2009, Jonah Lomu
Jonah Lomu
Jonah Tali Lomu, MNZM is a New Zealand rugby union player. He had sixty-three caps as an All Black after debuting in 1994. He is generally regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union. He has had a huge impact on the game...
and Lawrence Dallaglio
Lawrence Dallaglio
Lorenzo Bruno Nero "Lawrence" Dallaglio, OBE is a retired English rugby union player and former captain of the English national team. He played as a flanker or number eight for London Wasps and never played for another club, having arrived at Sudbury as a teenager...
were announced as ambassadors for the bid and in April 2009 Waisale Serevi
Waisale Serevi
Waisale Tikoisolomoni Serevi is a former Fijian rugby union footballer, and coach. Although he played fifteen-a-side rugby throughout his playing career, Serevi is most notable for his achievements in rugby sevens....
was unveiled as an ambassador to coincide with the Oceania National Olympic Committees
Oceania National Olympic Committees
The Oceania National Olympic Committees is an international organisation that congregates the 17 National Olympic Committees of Oceania....
' general assembly. May 2009 saw the IRB
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
announce that they would drop the Rugby World Cup Sevens in order to improve the chances of the sport being included. The benefit of this move would be to make the Olympics the premier event in international rugby sevens.
As well as rugby sevens, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
, which were dropped from the Olympic program in 2005, karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
, squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
and roller sports (inline speed skating
Inline speed skating
Inline speed skating is the sport of racing on inline skates It is often called inline racing by participants. Although it primarily evolved from racing on traditional roller skates, the sport is similar enough to ice speed skating that many competitors are now known to switch between inline and...
) were all seeking to be included in the 2016 games and leaders of the seven sports made formal presentations to the IOC executive board in June 2009. A new system was in place at this session in which a sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
now needs only a simple majority rather than the two-thirds majority that was required before.
On 13 August 2009 it was announced that the IOC executive board was recommending rugby sevens for inclusion in the 2016 Olympic Games and on 9 October 2009 the full IOC, at its 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, voted to include Rugby Sevens in the 2016 games.
Separate competitions for men and women will be held, using a similar format to the existing IRB Sevens World Series
IRB Sevens World Series
The IRB Sevens World Series, known officially as the HSBC Sevens World Series as of the 2010-11 season, through sponsorship from banking group HSBC, and also sometimes called the World Sevens Series, is a series of international rugby union sevens tournaments organised for the first time in the...
. The IRB had originally proposed including 12 teams of each sex, but during the IRB's presentation at the IOC Session, two IOC members asked why only 12 teams were included. IRB Chief Executive Mike Millar responded, "We followed the guidance of the Executive Members of the IOC, but if the IOC feels we should have more teams, we will add more."
Games
| 1900 Paris Rugby union at the 1900 Summer Olympics Rugby union was played at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. Matches were held on 14 October and 28 October. 47 athletes from three nations competed.... |
not awarded | ||
| 1904 St. Louis | not included in the Olympic program | ||
| 1908 London Rugby union at the 1908 Summer Olympics Rugby union at the 1908 Summer Olympics. The event was summarised under the "Football" heading along with association football. The host Great Britain was represented by Cornwall, the 1908 county champion... |
not awarded | ||
| 1912 Stockholm | not included in the Olympic program | ||
| 1920 Antwerp Rugby union at the 1920 Summer Olympics Rugby union was played at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. Two nations entered the rugby event - France and the United States. The French team were very much thought to be assured of the gold medal and came in as raging favourites in the event. However, the United States team caused a massive... |
not awarded | ||
| 1924 Paris Rugby union at the 1924 Summer Olympics Rugby union was played at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. Three teams entered – France, Romania and the United States. The United States was returning to defend their gold medal after they defeated the French at the 1920 Summer Olympics. Each country played two games... |
|||
| 1928–2012 | not included in the Olympic program | ||
| 2016 Rio de Janeiro | |||
Cumulative
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | For | Against | Diff. | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 United States |
3 | 3 | 0 | 64 | 3 | 2 | – | – | 2 | |
 France |
5 | 3 | 2 | 116 | 53 | 1 | 2 | – | 3 | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 3 | 1 | – | – | 1 | ||
 United Kingdom |
2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 59 | |||||
| – | 2 | – | 2 | |||||||
 Germany |
1 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 27 | |||||
| – | 1 | – | 1 | |||||||
 Romania |
2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 98 | |||||
| – | – | 1 | 1 |
Nations
Only players who participated in at least one match are counted.| Nations | - | 3 | - | 2 | - | 2 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union players | - | 47 | - | 30 | - | 31 | 54 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||
Notable rugby players involved in the Olympics
A number of Olympians in other fields have also been notable rugby players, these include:- Pierre de CoubertinPierre de CoubertinPierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin was a French educationalist and historian, founder of the International Olympic Committee, and is considered the father of the modern Olympic Games...
, founder of the modern Olympics, was a rugby fan and referee of the first ever French championship rugby unionRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
final on 20 March 1892French Rugby Championship 1892French Rugby Championship 1892. On 20 March 1892 the USFSA organised the first ever French rugby union championship, a one off game between Racing Club de France and Stade Français. The game was refereed by Pierre de Coubertin and saw Racing win 4–3. Racing were awarded the Bouclier de Brennus,...
between Racing Club de France and Stade Français. - Jean BouinJean BouinJean Bouin was a French athlete and rugby union footballer. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm....
, and track events. - Stan HarrisStan HarrisStanley "Stan" Wakefield Harris was an early twentieth century all-round sportsman regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders to have played for the British and Irish Lions. As a rugby union international, he represented the England in 1920, and the British Lions in 1924...
- Eric LiddellEric LiddellEric Henry Liddell was a Scottish athlete, rugby union international player, and missionary.Liddell was the winner of the men's 400 metres at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris...
, and track events. - Chris MacKintoshChris MacKintoshCharles "Christopher" MacKintosh was a Scottish rugby union internationalist, athlete, skier and bobsledder who competed in the 1920s and 30s. He won a gold medal in the four-man event at the 1938 FIBT World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.MacKintosh competed in skiing from 1923 to 1933...
- Heather MoyseHeather MoyseHeather Moyse is a Canadian athlete, representing Canada in international competition as a bobsledder and rugby union player, and competing at the Canadian intercollegiate level in rugby, soccer and track and field.-Awards:...
, CanadaCanada women's national rugby union teamThe Canadian national rugby union team represent Canada in international rugby union. They are governed by Rugby Canada, and play in red and black.-Team Roster:Squad to 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup .-Results summary:...
and gold in Olympic bobsleigh. - James Cecil ParkeJames Cecil ParkeJames Cecil Parke was an Irish rugby player, tennis player, golfer and Olympic medallist.Parke was born in Clones, County Monaghan, Ireland. He played rugby with both Monkstown and Dublin University and between 1901 and 1908 played ten times for Leinster...
, and track events (also represented Ireland in cricket and golf, and as well as competing at Wimbledon and in the Davis CupDavis CupThe Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
) - Noel Purcell, and gold in Olympic water poloWater poloWater polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
- the first Olympic internationalist to represent two countries, Great Britain and the Irish Free StateIrish Free StateThe Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
. - David Robertson (golfer)David Robertson (golfer)David Donaldson Robertson was a British sportsman who represented Britain at golf in the 1900 Summer Olympics, and also played international rugby for the Scotland.-Personal history:...
- Jacques RoggeJacques RoggeJacques Rogge, Count Rogge , is a Belgian sports bureaucrat. He is the eighth and current President of the International Olympic Committee .-Life and career:...
, current IOC president. - Constantin Henriquez de ZubieraConstantin Henriquez de ZubieraConstantin Henriquez de Zubiera was a Haitian-born French rugby union footballer. He played as number eight, wing and centre.He played at Olympique de Paris and Stade Français...
, Haitian rugby player for who won gold for France at the tug of war. - Attie van HeerdenAttie van HeerdenAdriaan "Attie" Jacobus van Heerden was a South African Olympian 400 metre hurdler, rugby union and professional rugby league footballer of the 1920s who at representative level played rugby union for South Africa , at provincial level for Western Province,...
- Danny CratesDanny CratesDaniel "Danny" Brian Crates, is a former British athlete, who specialised in 800m sprinting. He is the Paralympic world record holder in this event, and won gold medals in a number of international competitions, including the Paralympic Games. He also plays competitive rugby and is a qualified...
, who has carried the torch twice at the Olympics, and is a notable Paralympian, also plays competitive rugby. - Kevin O'FlanaganKevin O'FlanaganKevin Patrick O'Flanagan , also referred to as Dr. Kevin O'Flanagan, is a former Irish sportsman, physician and sports administrator. An outstanding all-rounder, he represented his country at both soccer and rugby union...
, IrelandIreland national rugby union teamThe Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
international. Represented IrelandOlympic Council of IrelandThe Olympic Council of Ireland or OCI is the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Ireland. Its mission is "to develop and protect the Olympic Movement in Ireland, in accordance with the International Olympic Committee’s guiding document — the Olympic Charter."-History:After the First...
on the International Olympic CommitteeInternational Olympic CommitteeThe International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
External links
- Rugby & The Olympic Games on IRB.com
- Olympic Sports of the Past on olympic.org
- Petition to get Rugby back to the Olympics on olympic-rugby.org
- Guidelines on how to get rugby into the Olympics on UR7s.com