Rugby Sevens

Rugby sevens is a smaller, shorter version of rugby union football, in which the teams have only seven players and play seven-minute halves. Rugby sevens was approved for inclusion to the Olympic Program by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board in 2001, but the proposal was tabled by the IOC Session, and dismissed at the 2005 IOC Session. It was brought up again in 2009, when the IOC approved it for inclusion in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, and the discipline featured again at the program of Tokyo 2020.

As of 2022, the medal table is led by Fiji (three medals and two gold), followed by New Zealand (three medals, one gold). Jerry Tuwai, one of the players from Fiji, was part of the men’s teams that won the nation’s two gold medals.

Rugby sevens is governed by World Rugby (WR), which is recognized by the IOC. Founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board, it was renamed to the International Rugby Board in 1996, and to its current name of World Rugby in 2020. It has 110 full member nations, with 19 associate unions as of 2022.