Rugby Sevens

olympic games

Medals

1
2
commonwealth games

Medals

6
1
2

About Rugby Sevens

Rugby Union was first introduced to the Olympic programme at the Paris 1900 Olympic Games. It was then contested further at London 1908, Antwerp 1920 and Paris 1924 Olympic games. However, post 1924, rugby was removed from the programme. Rugby sevens was introduced to the Olympic programme at Rio 2016 and has continued to be featured.

RULES OVERVIEW

Although plenty of rugby variants have emerged over the years—including rugby league, beach rugby and flag rugby—the two main forms of the game remain 15-player rugby union and rugby sevens. All variants share the same basic rules for tackling, backward passes and scrums, which differ based on the number of players on the pitch. Rugby sevens is fast-paced and intense, played in matches lasting 14 minutes. It is an exceptionally testing version of the sport, in which players make more sprints and score more tries than in rugby union. Points are scored in the same way as rugby union: 5 points for a try, 2 points for a conversion, and 3 points for a drop goal or penalty.

NEW ZEALAND RUGBY SEVENS

Both the New Zealand Men's and Women's teams debuted at Rio 2016 and competed again at Tokyo 2020.

25 players have represented New Zealand at the Olympic Games (13 men, 12 women).

12 of the 25 players have attended both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 (5 men, 7 women).

sports

NZ Fast facts

Olympic Games
No. of athletes
49
No. of games
3
First appearance
2016
Commonwealth Games
No. of athletes
77
No. of games
7
First appearance
1998