Men's tournament
Main article: Rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament
Pool A
Pool B
Pool C
Referees
World Rugby announced
a panel of twelve match officials for the men's sevens:.[14][15] Two Brazilians were latter added
assistant referees.
Women's tournament
Main article: Rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's
tournament
Pool A
Pool B
Pool C
Referees
World Rugby announced
a panel of twelve match officials for the women's sevens:.[14][16] Two Brazilians were latter added
assistant referees.
- Gabriel Lee (Hong Kong)
- Alhambra
Nievas (Spain)
- Amy Perrett (Australia)
- Alex Pratt (Scotland)
- Rasta Rasivhenge (South
Africa)
- Mariana Wyse (Brazil)
– Assistant referee
- Nayara Lima (Brazil)
– Assistant referee
Competition schedule
The competition will run August 6–11.[17]
In the Men's tournament, pool A consists of Fiji, Argentina, USA and Brazil. Pool B includes South Africa, Australia, France and Spain while pool C consists of New Zealand, Great Britain, Kenya and Japan.[18]
In the Women's tournament pool A consists of Australia, USA, Fiji and Colombia. Pool B includes New Zealand, France, Spain and Kenya while pool C consists of Canada, Great Britain, Brazil and Japan.[18]
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, Wales,
Scotland and Northern Ireland) 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.[19] Great Britain will get a chance to field a combined team.[20]
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, Wales,
Scotland and Ireland—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, World Rugby (then known as the International Rugby
Board) endorsed the concept of a united Great Britain team for the 2016 Games.[21]
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 Sevens World Series
and World Rugby
Women's Sevens 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 Sevens Series; the
Women's Sevens Series began in 2012–2013 with England as one of the six core teams.[22] 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.[20]
