Olympics 2024: history, rules, schedule of events, everything you need to know about rugby 7s

Less well known than fifteen-a-side rugby, rugby sevens is now an Olympic discipline. However, this has not always been the case: we take a look at this discipline, its history, its rules and its program!

The rugby family includes 15-a-side, 13-a-side and beach rugby. In smaller teams, rugby can also be played by teams of seven players, and this is the form of rugby that has been selected for inclusion in the Olympic Games program.

Although rugby's roots date back to the Middle Ages, it was in the town of Rugby - which later gave its name to the discipline - in Great Britain, that the sport of oval ball was codified in 1848. Since then, the sport has become much more popular, especially since the creation of the Rugby World Cup in 1987.

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The rules

Rugby Sevens is played with the hand - and only the hand - by teams of seven players who compete in 14-minute matches on a conventional rugby pitch. To pass the ball, you have to pass backwards to your team-mates - never forwards, again, on pain of a foul - to take the ball from your opponent, which is possible provided you make a tackle (you grab the legs, never take above the waist, squeeze very hard and make the opponent fall and leave the ball on the ground). Finally, to score points, you need to score a try behind the goal line (worth five points) and convert it, by kicking the ball between the posts (two extra points). When a team kicks a penalty (again, the ball must be kicked between the posts), it can score three points.

Records

Rugby is not a historic Olympic discipline, and for good reason: in the beginning, it was rugby XV that was played as part of the Olympic Games, with the discipline being added to the programs of the 1900, 1908, 1920 and 1924 Games. It was not until the 2016 Rio Olympics that rugby made its comeback as an Olympic discipline, with rugby sevens offered in the form of a men's and women's tournament. For the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, rugby sevens events will take place from July 24 to 30, at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.

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Less popular than XV rugby, sevens rugby doesn't feature teams with the same media profile as XV rugby, where the All Blacks (New Zealand), the Springboks (South Africa), the XV de France... And many other teams are particularly well known. Nevertheless, in 2021, at the Tokyo Games, the New Zealanders won the gold medal in the women's tournament and the Fijians in the men's tournament. If you're interested in 7-a-side rugby, come and see us at the Stade de France or in the fan zones during the Olympic Games. Enjoy the game (if you're lucky enough to get there)!