Great Britain national rugby sevens team

When rugby sevens was admitted to the Summer Olympics in 2009,[2] it was not initially known how Great Britain could qualify.[3] As England, Wales and Scotland; three of the nations that make up Great Britain all compete separately in international competition, it was suggested that if any of them gained a qualifying spot then Great Britain would qualify. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Rugby Board (IRB), stated that Great Britain must select a lead nation to be the only one able to gain the qualification spot.[4] The individual British rugby unions selected England to be the lead nation as the Rugby Football Union was the only British union to fund a full-time rugby sevens programme.[5] England secured Great Britain's qualification to the 2016 Summer Olympics by finishing fourth in the 2015 Sevens World Series.[6][7]

While England was the team that qualified Great Britain for the 2016 Olympics, the Great Britain national rugby sevens team is able to select players from Wales and Scotland as well as England similar to the British and Irish Lions in rugby union.[8] Northern Irish players according to the British Olympic Association's rules as British citizens would have been eligible to play for Great Britain; however the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) announced that Northern Ireland players would represent the Ireland national rugby sevens team as rugby in Ireland is organised on an All-Ireland basis.[9] However, it was stated that Northern Irish and Ulster contracted players could legally challenge that determination, particularly if Ireland failed to qualify.[8]