One of the most popular sports in the world will be back to the Olympic Games programme starting at Rio 2016™. A passion on the five continents, rugby will be disputed in Rio de Janeiro in its Sevens version, in other words, the teams will be composed of seven athletes. The abbreviated form of Rugby Union is dynamic and intelligent, with intense human contact. At the Rio 2016™ Games, they will thrill the fans, who already follow the oval ball across the globe and who will certainly fill the Cariocas stadiums to capacity.

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At the beginning of the 20th century, the sport participated in four editions of the Games, but in its fifteen-player version. At the Paris 1900 Games, France was the first champion. Eight years later, in London, Australia won the gold, followed by the United States at the Antwerp 1920 and the Paris 1924 Games. The Baron de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, practised the sport and was an enthusiast.

In the following decades, Rugby suffered a process of expansion. Today, it is practised in more than 120 countries and takes crowds to the stadiums. The most important fifteen-version championship, the World Cup, disputed every four years, loses in audience only to the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup. In the Sevens version, the many legs of the World Series are held annually on the five continents.

“We were observers of one of the World Series five legs, in New Zealand, a place where Rugby is very popular. The event is like Carnival. Inside the stadium, it is a two-day celebration. The matches are dynamic, with two halves of seven minutes. We went there to interact with the International Rugby Board and see what model of event they held. We are back in Rio to compare their model with ours. It is a decision the Organising Committee has to make together with the International Federaland also meeting the IOC demands”, says Rodrigo Garcia, Rio 2016™ Organising Committee Sports Policy and Operations Manager.

One of the two fastest growing sport in Brazil

Rugby was officially included in the Olympic programme in 2009, the same year the seven-version World Cup was held in Dubai, Arab Emirates. In the men’s competition, Wales defeated Argentina in the final to be the champion for the first time. Fiji already has two titles. England and New Zealand have one each. In the women’s competition, Australia outdid New Zealand in the decision of the first women’s World Cup.

With tradition in all versions, in the men’s and in women’s competitions alike, the Oceania countries are the favourites to Rio 2016™. It will be five years of a tough walk to its debut in the Games, including the Russia World Cup in 2013. But the dream of climbing the Olympic podium already overpowers hearts and minds.

“Rugby Sevens was never an Olympic sport. Therefore, the International Federal has made adaptations to the Games model that is already being held. Rugby will fit the programme perfectly, but it will suffer some changes in terms of sporting calendar. The Olympic competitions encompass male and female matches, for instance, unlike the World Series, which encompass only male matches. With these alterations, it will certainly be a huge success in Rio 2016™. According to specialists, Rugby is the second growing sport in Brazil, just losing to MMA (mixed martial arts). It has everything to grow even more”, concludes Rodrigo Garcia.