Rugby

Men's Rugby Sevens

Rio 2016 venue: Deodoro Stadium (Deodoro Zone)
Competition dates: Aug. 9-11
Medal events: 1 (men’s team)
Olympic introduction: 2016 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Preview
Rugby sevens will be contested for the first time at the Olympic Games in 2016. The sevens format is a smaller, faster-paced game than the more common 15-a-side rugby tournament, which was last featured at the 1924 Games, in which the U.S. defended its gold medal from 1920. The competition will feature both men’s and women’s tournaments, each comprising 12 teams, taking place over three days.

The U.S. men's rugby sevens team won its first HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series tournament title in London, the final round of the 2014-15 season, defeating top-five teams South Africa, Australia and England in the process. A month later, the team swept the competition at the 2015 NACRA Sevens Championships to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Summer Games. In the first round of the 10-round 2015-16 Series in Dubai, the U.S. topped 12-time series champion New Zealand for the first time in 29 meetings before winning the 30th matchup on day two to finish the tournament in third. Also highlighting the 2015 season, the U.S. men claimed the bronze medal with a 40-12 defeat over Uruguay at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.

A rugby sevens tournament is typically played over two or three days with a new match every 20 minutes and is ideal for broadcasters and spectators. A match is split into halves and lasts no longer than 14 minutes, to which extra time may be added. Each team has seven players on the rectangular grass pitch, as well as five substitutes. Only three of the subs can play during a match. The aim is to get the ball to the opposing team’s goal line, but players cannot pass the ball forward. The main way of obtaining points is by scoring a try, which is worth five points, when the ball is touched down on the ground after the goal line.

Deodoro Stadium will host rugby sevens' Olympic debut from Aug. 6-11. Part of the Deodoro Olympic Park, the stadium will also stage the riding and combined sections of the modern pentathlon competition.

Athletes To Watch
Madison Hughes
In June 2015, Madison, captain of the men’s team, led the U.S. in securing a quota spot for the Rio 2016 Games with a first-place finish at the 2015 NACRA Sevens Championship. Hughes grew up in London, where he was introduced to rugby at age 7. He excelled at every level of youth competition before deciding to continue his athletic career at Dartmouth College, where he aided The Big Green to the 2012 collegiate rugby championship title. With dual citizenship (his mother is from Boston), Hughes chose to represent Team USA and was part of the USA Rugby AIG Men's Junior All-American team that took the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy in 2012. Under his leadership on the pitch, the U.S. is a legitimate medal contender for Rio.

Carlin Isles
Isles electric speed quickly earned him international acclaim as the “fastest man in rugby” upon entering the HSBC World Rugby Series in 2012. After failing to earn a spot on the 2012 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team, the former sprinter and football standout transitioned to rugby, revealing viable pipelines for the sport. The Massillon, Ohio, native resisted overtures from the NFL in the spring of 2014 to focus solely on rugby and the chance to win the first rugby sevens Olympic medal for Team USA. Partnering Isles is Perry Baker, formerly of the Arena Football League's Pittsburgh Power, a candidate for the 2014-15 Series Rookie of the Year with 28 tries scored.

Storylines

Rugby is making its return to the Olympic Games in 2016 for the first time since 1924, when the U.S. captured its second straight gold medal. Previously, rugby was competed as the 15-player version. In 2016, the version played will be rugby sevens, which is faster and considered easier and more exciting to watch. The competition will feature both men’s and women’s tournaments, which were also featured in the program for the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games.

Mike Friday was selected in July 2014 to coach the U.S. men’s rugby sevens team in the lead-up to the Rio 2016 Games. With a history of success on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series circuit as both a player and coach, Friday, along with assistant coach Chris Brown, elevated Kenya from 12th to fifth place in a single season at the helm. He has implemented a similar training program to the one he used in Kenya at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, leading the U.S. to its highest-ever HSBC Series finish in 2014-15.

Women's Rugby Sevens

Rio 2016 venue: Deodoro Stadium (Deodoro Zone)
Competition dates: Aug. 6-8
Medal events: 1 (women’s team)
Olympic introduction: 2016 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Within weeks of missing out on a fourth-place finish and a chance to qualify for the Rio 2016 Games at the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series circuit, the U.S. women’s rugby sevens team swept six matches in Cary, North Carolina, to win the 2015 NACRA Sevens Championship and qualify as one of 12 teams to compete in Rio.

A rugby sevens tournament is typically played over two or three days with a new match every 20 minutes and is ideal for broadcasters and spectators. A match is split into halves and lasts no longer than 14 minutes, to which extra time may be added. Each team has seven players on the rectangular grass pitch, as well as five substitutes. Only three of the subs can play during a match. The aim is to get the ball to the opposing team’s goal line, but players cannot pass the ball forward. The main way of obtaining points is by scoring a try, worth five points, when the ball is touched down on the ground after the goal line.

The world’s top rugby sevens women will be the first players to compete for an Olympic Games medal in 92 years, with 12 teams competing over three days before the men’s teams take their turn. Two group stage matches will take place on the first day of competition, followed by the final group stage match and first round of elimination play on the following day. The medal round will then take place on the third day of the tournament.

Deodoro Stadium will host rugby sevens’ Olympic debut from Aug. 6-11. Part of the Deodoro Olympic Park, the stadium will also stage the riding and combined sections of the modern pentathlon competition.

Athletes To Watch
Alev Kelter
Kelter is one of the many crossover athletes to find success in rugby sevens. She was introduced to the sport of rugby at age 22 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, where she was immediately attracted to the camaraderie of the sport. A dual-sport athlete at the University of Wisconsin, playing both ice hockey and soccer, she captained the U.S. women’s ice hockey team to the gold medal at the 2009 IIHF World Women’s U18 Championship in which she led all defensemen in scoring with eight points (five goals, three assists). After narrowly missing out on the Sochi Olympic Winter Games in 2014, she was invited to join a rugby tryout at the Chula Vista OTC, earning a residency spot in only a few days.

Jillion Potter
Despite missing several competitions throughout her career due to a broken neck in 2010 and having been diagnosed with cancer in August 2014, Potter has persevered. Fourteen months after her cancer diagnosis, she made the 12-player U.S. rugby team as captain for the HSBC Women’s Sevens Series opener in November 2015.

Storylines

Rugby is making its return to the Olympic Games in 2016 for the first time since 1924, when the U.S. captured its second straight gold medal. Previously, rugby was competed as the 15 player version. In 2016, the version played will be rugby sevens, which is faster and considered easier and more exciting to watch. The competition will feature both men’s and women’s tournaments, which were also featured in the program for the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games.

In September 2015, former Eagle Jules McCoy was selected to lead the U.S. women’s sevens team into the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, replacing outgoing head coach Ric Suggitt. A practicing board-certified neurologist, McCoy returned to the women’s sevens program as head coach after previously holding the position 2006-09. In her previous four seasons at the helm – all prior to the announcement of rugby sevens entering the Rio 2016 Olympics – the U.S. women won the Hong Kong Sevens, Dubai Sevens, and USA 7s three times, and also finished fourth at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2009. McCoy helped found the first National Development Academy for women’s rugby – the American Rugby Pro Training Center. Based in Little Rock, Arkansas, the Academy has served as a launching point for several women’s players in the U.S.