• Australia make history with inaugural Olympic Games women’s rugby sevens gold
• First Olympic Games rugby medals in 92 years awarded
• Australia win gold, New Zealand silver and Canada bronze on thrilling final day
• Hosts Brazil secure 2016-17 World Rugby Sevens Series core team status
• Rugby the winner on historic day for the sport and the Games
• Bill Beaumont hails game-changing women’s competition 

Olympic Games history was made as Australia struck gold in the women’s rugby sevens competition at the Deodoro Stadium on Monday.
 
In defeating New Zealand 24-17 in a high-quality and frenetic final, Australia became rugby’s first Olympic Games gold medallists in 92 years and the first-ever women’s rugby gold medal winners.

On a day of firsts, high drama and spectacular sevens, rugby was the winner. It may have been seven years in the making from inclusion on the Olympic programme, but the wait was worth every second and how the fans loved it.

In stark contrast to 1924 when rugby last appeared at the Games, sevens is made for the modern Olympic stage. It is fast, dynamic, action-packed with a carnival atmosphere and has showcased the very best of the top women’s sevens players in what is one of the world’s fastest-growing and most accessible team sports.

The dream final pitted the top two ranked teams in the world – Australia, the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series champions, and world champions New Zealand – in a match of enormous intensity, drama and skill. With the knowledge that Olympic glory beckoned, no quarter was given nor asked.

Defence and determination dominated, but the skill was exceptional throughout. Kayla McAlister broke the deadlock for New Zealand midway through the first half, but Emma Tonegato hit back for Australia to level the scores at 5-5. Portia Woodman’s yellow card gave Australia the advantage and Evania Pelite scored on the stroke of half-time for a 10-5 lead.

After the interval, Australia extended their lead to 24-5 with tries by Ellia Green and Charlotte Caslick, before New Zealand launched a late rally. McAlister and Woodman clawed back the deficit, but Australia held out to take their place in history as rugby’s first gold medal winners since 1924.

Canada defeat Great Britain to win bronze
Canada made up for their semi-final disappointment to win bronze, defeating Great Britain 33-10 in a thrilling pre-cursor to the gold medal match. Once again, it was the sublime talent and leadership of Jen Kish that steered the Canadians through as Bianca Farella, Ghislaine Landry (2), Karen Paquin and Kelly Russell’s tries secured an historic bronze medal.

Semi-final: Australia 17-5 Canada
Series champions Australia continued to impress in their semi-final, defeating Canada 17-5. Leading 12-0 at the interval thanks to a brace by Emilee Cherry, Australia showed their series-winning class in the second half, adding a third try through Chloe Dalton before soaking up late Canada pressure to guarantee at least silver.

Semi-final: New Zealand 25-7 Great Britain
New Zealand eased into gold medal match after two yellow cards in the space of 30 seconds gave Great Britain an uphill battle from which they never recovered. A Portia Woodman hat-trick capped an irresistible performance for the world champions, with Ruby Tui and Huriana Manuel also crossing for tries.

Positional play-offs
In the other matches, USA were classified fifth after defeating France 19-5, while Spain claimed seventh with a 21-0 win over Fiji. For hosts Brazil there was extra reason to celebrate a solid competition as their impressive 33-5 win over Japan to finish ninth secured core team status for the 2016-17 HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series and opportunity for future success. Kenya defeated Colombia 22-10 to claim 11th place.

For rugby’s first Olympians in more than a lifetime, the honour to compete on sport’s greatest stage was victory in itself and all will reflect on playing their part in making history in what has already been heralded as a game-changing event.

Beaumont hails world’s top women players
World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “We have seen women’s rugby launched on a truly global stage. Stars have been born, unforgettable moments created and fans entertained.

“Congratulations to our gold medallists Australia, but to all our women Olympians, thank you, you have made your families, nations and rugby proud. You have made history.

“This competition has demonstrated the very best of rugby and its character-building values. I am sure that we have reached, engaged and inspired new women and girls across the world and we are excited to welcome them to the rugby family.”

Australia, Canada, Great Britain and New Zealand have qualified for the semi-finals of the Olympic Games women’s rugby sevens, keeping their dreams of a gold medal alive as a breath-taking competition heads into its final day.

With the honour of winning rugby’s first Olympic medals in 92 years spurring the teams on, the quarter-finals saw Australia defeat Spain 24-0, Canada overcome France 15-5, Great Britain beat Fiji 26-7 and New Zealand edge USA 5-0.

Embracing the opportunity to showcase their talent on an unprecedented global stage, the world’s top players treated fans at the Deodoro Stadium to four high-quality, intense and compelling quarter-finals, which demonstrated the competitiveness and depth of the women’s game.

Semi-finals
Australia v Canada (14:30)
Great Britain v New Zealand (15:00)

Catch up with all the latest action on from World Rugby here.

You can see all the fixtures and results so far here.

Australia 24-0 Spain
HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series champions Australia were pushed all the way by a valiant Spanish side who had only confirmed their place in the competition via the repechage in late June. Tries from Charlotte Caslick (2), Emma Tonegato and Ellia Green secured victory for the top seeds.

France 5-15 Canada
Regular opponents on the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, France and Canada served-up a tense quarter-final, rousing an enthusiastic crowd. The scores were locked at 5-5 at half-time after tries from Jade Le Pesq and Kayla Moleschi and it took tries from Bianca Farella and Ghislaine Landry in the final two minutes to seal the victory

Great Britain 26-7 Fiji
Team GB continued their impressive form on day two with Abbie Brown scoring from the kick-off against Fiji. The Pacific islanders struck back with a wonderful team try finished by Litia Naiqato, before Alice Richardson and Joanne Watmore added tries to give Great Britain a 19-7 half-time lead. Despite spirited play from Fiji, Brown’s second try secured the semi-final for Great Britain.

New Zealand 5-0 USA
In a tight encounter New Zealand and USA were scoreless with only seconds to go in the first half until Portia Woodman broke through stoic defence to give the Kiwis a 5-0 lead at the break. The USA had the better of the second half, but couldn’t find a way through despite New Zealand losing Tyla Nathan-Wong to a yellow card.

Earlier in the session, hosts Brazil defeated Colombia 24-0 to progress to the ninth place play-off, where they will face Japan, who defeated Kenya by the same score. The winner of this play-off will secure core team status on the 2016-17 HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series.

Report courtesy of World Rugby

France made history, becoming the first nation to win an Olympic Games women’s rugby sevens match on a compelling and historic opening day at the Deodoro Stadium on Saturday.

The French, who also went on to finish the day second in Pool B after comfortable wins against Spain and Kenya, also claimed the first-ever Olympic sevens try through Camille Grassineau.

Rugby is making its return to sport’s biggest stage after an absence of 92 years and a vibrant and international crowd were in party mood as the world’s top women’s players showed why sevens is a perfect fit for the Games with sublime skill, speed and tries galore.

While the quarter-finals for the medal competitions are still in the balance with one round of pool matches left to play on Sunday, Australia, New Zealand, France, Canada and Great Britain all secured their places by winning their opening two pool matches.

Visit the World Rugby Rio Sevens site here.

Where to watch Olympic Games Rugby Sevens.

In Pool A, HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series champions Australia won both matches, beating Colombia 53-0 and Fiji 36-0. Fiji caused the shock of the day, defeating USA 12-7 to tee-up a thrilling climax to the pool when second place will be determined.

New Zealand were in sublime form, defeating Kenya 52-0 in the morning before beating Spain 31-5 to top Pool B at the end of the day. France, meanwhile, eased past Spain 24-7 in the opening match before defeating a spirited Kenya 40-7.

In Pool C, Canada top the overnight standings after defeating Japan 45-0 and Brazil 38-0. Team GB recovered from a nervous start to beat hosts Brazil 29-3 and were then more clinical in seeing off Japan 40-0.

The top two from each pool qualify for the quarter-finals along with the two best  third-placed teams, so there is still plenty to play for on what promises to be an exciting final session of pool play on day two.

When play resumes, Spain, Fiji and USA will be leading the race for those all-important places. If Spain beat Kenya in their final Pool B match they may qualify, while USA and Fiji will be competing for the second place in Pool A.

World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “This is an historic moment for our sport and I am particularly delighted for the world’s top women who have showcased the very best of our sport to an unprecedented global audience. They have worked very hard for this moment and we were treated to some exceptional rugby sevens.”

Report courtesy of World Rugby

All the results from the three day competition are below.

The pools and fixtures are all below, site will be updated with results.

Rio 2016 – Women’s Sevens – Pools:

Pool A – Australia 7s, USA 7s, Fiji 7s, Colombia 7s

Pool B – New Zealand 7s, France7s, Spain 7s, Kenya 7s

Pool C – Canada 7s, Great Britain 7s, Brazil 7s, Japan 7s

Fixtures (all times are local)

Saturday 6 August 2016

Match 1: 11:00  Pool B, France 7s 24-7 Spain 7s

Match 2: 11:30 Pool B, New Zealand 7s 52-0 Kenya 7s

Match 3: 12:00 Pool C, Great Britain 7s 29-3 Brazil 7s

Match 4: 12:30 Pool C, Canada 7s 45-0 Japan 7s

Match 5: 13:00 Pool A, USA 7s 7-12 Fiji 7s

Match 6: 13:30 Pool A, Australia 7s 53-0 Colombia 7s

Match 7: 16:00 Pool B, France 7s 40-7 Kenya 7s

Match 8: 16:30 Pool B New Zealand 7s 31-5 Spain 7s

Match 9: 17:00 Pool C, Great Britain 7s 40-0 Japan 7s

Match 10: 17:30 Pool C Canada 7s 38-0 Brazil 7s

Match 11: 18:00 Pool A, USA 7s 48-0 Colombia 7s

Match 12: 18:30 Pool A Australia 7s 36-0 Fiji 7s

Sunday 7 August 2016

Match 13: 11:00 Pool B Spain 7s 19-10 Kenya 7s

Match 14: 11:30 Pool B New Zealand 7s 26-7 France 7s

Match 15: 12:00 Pool C Brazil 7s 26-10 Japan 7s

Match 16: 12:30 Pool C Canada 7s 0-22 Great Britain 7s

Match 17: 13:00 Pool A Fiji 7s 36-0 Colombia 7s

Match 18: 13:30 Pool A Australia 7s 12-12 USA 7s

Match 19: 16:00  9th Place Semi Final,

Brazil 24-0 Colombia

Match 20: 16:30 9th Place Semi Final,

Japan 24-0 Kenya

Match 21: 17:00  Medal Quarter Final

Australia 24-0 Spain

Match 24: 18:30 Medal Quarter Final

New Zealand 5-0 USA

Match 23: 18:00 Medal Quarter Final,

Great Britain 26-7 Fiji

Match 22: 17:30  Medal Quarter Final

France 5-15 Canada

Monday 8 August 2016

Match 25: 12:30  11th Place Play-Off

Colombia  10-22 Kenya

Match 26: 13:00  9th Place Play-Off

Brazil 33-5 Japan

Match 27: 13:30  5th Place Semi Final

Spain 12-24 France

Match 28: 14:00 5th Place Semi Final

Fiji 7-12 USA

Match 29: 14:30 Medal Semi Final

Australia 17-5 Canada

Match 30:15:00 Medal Semi Final

Great Britain 7-25 New Zealand

Match 31: 17:30 7th Place Play-Off

Spain 21-0 Fiji

Match 32 : 18:00 5th Place Play-Off

France 5-19 USA

Match 33: 18:30  Bronze Final

Canada 33-10 Great Britain

Match 34: 19:00 Gold Final

Australia 24-17 New Zealand

• Sevens stars set to shine as rugby returns
• Olympic opportunity drives global growth 
• Game-changing Rio 2016 anticipated 

Rugby’s first Olympians in 92 years are ready to take their place in history at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont believes the stars of sevens will shine brightly to inspire a new generation of players and fans.

“The waiting is over, the preparation complete and it is now time for our top men’s and women’s sevens players to take centre stage,” said Beaumont, elected earlier this year.

“This is their moment to shine, to enjoy and inspire. Their passion and commitment to reach the pinnacle of their discipline and proudly represent their nation and rugby on sport’s biggest stage will be rewarded with what I fully anticipate being spectacular, game-changing Olympic rugby sevens events.”

It has been a long journey back to the Games for rugby. Setting aside that the last appearance was in 1924 (USA are the reigning champions), it has been seven incredible years since the IOC voted the sport back on to the programme, but Beaumont believes the build-up has enabled rugby to maximise the opportunity and put legacy first.

Since inclusion, rugby has become truly global. Women’s rugby participation in particular has grown from 10 per cent of the population to over 30 per cent, while rugby has received significant NOC and government support as more than one million children have tried, played and stayed in the sport as a result of  Get Into Rugby mass participation programmes in schools and sports clubs.

“The Olympic Games halo effect started the moment we were voted back on to the programme in 2009. Our national member unions have embraced the Olympic opportunity and participation has doubled to 7.73 million, with dramatic growth in new and emerging rugby nations. In short it has been a game-changer, enhancing our vision of a sport for all.

Beaumont is also impressed with how the preparations gathered momentum this year to deliver the 15,000-seater Deodoro Stadium, a venue with performance and fan-engagement at heart.

“We are honoured to be a new discipline in the summer Olympic Games. We kick-off on day one and we collectively have a massive opportunity to inspire a new generation of male and female rugby players and fans to participate and have fun.

“I am excited about Rio 2016. Our players are telling us they are excited, we have a superb venue and a great team, including passionate volunteers, and I have no doubt they will be spectacular events for the players, fans, Rio and rugby. ”

And on the eve of rugby’s return, Beaumont is anticipating compelling and highly-competitive sevens tournaments that will deliver excitement, dynamic action and tries, lots of tries.

“After seven years, the Olympic Games baton has now been passed from the IOC, World Rugby and the organisers to the men and women selected to represent rugby at Rio 2016. We know that they will do themselves, their families, their nations, rugby and the Olympic family proud.”

World Rugby has given anti-doping education to more than 15,000 players in recent years and continues to be committed to protecting clean athletes through intelligent testing and values-based education.

Visit the Keep Rugby Clean site here.

Speaking as Team GB get set to take on hosts Brazil at the Deodoro Stadium on Saturday, Scarratt, a Women’s Rugby World Cup winner with England in 2014, said: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to support the Keep Rugby Clean campaign ahead of the Olympic Games.

“As a player, it’s incredibly important to know that World Rugby is maintaining a level playing field in our sport. We need to keep our sport free from cheats and players have to play their part.”

Jenkins added: “Education is key to the success of a campaign like Keep Rugby Clean. It’s important that players can highlight the negative effects of doping and encourage others to educate themselves about the negative consequences.

“Rugby is set to grow massively as a result of Olympic Games inclusion and I think it’s vital that players continue to fully support the campaign to Keep Rugby Clean.”

Find more information about Rio 2016 here.

Last week World Rugby announced details of its targeted pre-Olympic Games rugby sevens anti-doping testing and education programme.

The most scientific and comprehensive pre-event programme ever operated in the sport, the programme captured all Olympic players from qualified nations as well as players from teams still in the qualification hunt during that period.

It comprised a total of 1,289 samples across the period with 83 per cent of tests conducted out of competition. On average, each player who has made it to Rio was tested 2.3 times. All samples have been stored to enable future analysis and to date there have been two recorded adverse analytical findings. Both players were Russian and both tested positive for meldonium but were subsequently cleared to play following their respective hearings in line with WADA’s notice regarding that substance. All tests on Russian players were collected and analysed outside of Russia.

You c an watch the Keep Rugby Clean educational video here.

World Rugby Anti-Doping General Manager Mike Earl said: “The Keep Rugby Clean campaign is continuing to educate players of all ages about the dangers associated with taking banned substances.

“It’s great to have such high profile players like Ed and Emily supporting the campaign and highlighting the importance of anti-doping. The opportunity to promote our message with such world-class athletes is fantastic for us and is key to the success of the Keep Rugby Clean campaign.”

Report courtesy of World Rugby