Great Britain national rugby sevens team

The Great Britain national rugby sevens team is the men's Olympic representative team of Great Britain at the rugby sevens tournament at the Summer Olympic Games. After having played at the World Games in 2001 and 2005,[1] they made their Olympic debut at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where they won the silver medal, losing the final to Fiji.

Great Britain
UnionBritish Olympic Association
Coach(es)Simon Amor
Captain(s)Tom Mitchell
Team kit
Change kit
First international
 Australia 21–0 Great Britain 
(25 August 2001)
Largest win
 Great Britain 43–0 Poland 
(9 July 2016)
Largest defeat
 South Africa 52–0 Great Britain 
(23 June 2005)
Great Britain national rugby sevens team
Medal record
Olympic Games
2016 Rio de JaneiroTeam

Olympic history

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]

Eligibility

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]

Tournament history

World Games

World Games Rugby 7s
Year Round Position Pld W L D
2001 Quarter final7 5 1 4 0
2005 Third play-off4 5 2 3 0
2009 Did not participate
2013
Total0 Titles2/410370

Summer Olympic Games

A silver medal for Great Britain in the 2016 Olympics is a considerable achievement for a team that was only formed ten weeks prior the tournament. Where other teams on the sevens circuit had been preparing two years or longer, Team Great Britain coach Amor only got his players together for the first time on May 30. England, Wales and Scotland all compete as separate nations in the World Sevens Series.[10]

Squads

2016 Olympic team

The following is the Great Britain roster in the men's rugby sevens tournament of the 2016 Summer Olympics.[11]

Head coach: Simon Amor

No. Pos. Player Country Date of birth (age) Events Points Union
1 FW Mark Robertson  Scotland (1984-12-30)30 December 1984 (aged 31) 47 426  Unattached
2 BK Ruaridh McConnochie  England (1991-10-23)23 October 1991 (aged 24) 9 45  Unattached
3 FW Phil Burgess  England (1988-07-01)1 July 1988 (aged 28) 22 212  Unattached
4 BK Dan Norton  England (1988-03-22)22 March 1988 (aged 28) 57 1,064  Unattached
5 FW James Rodwell  England (1984-08-23)23 August 1984 (aged 31) 69 445  Unattached
6 BK Tom Mitchell (c)  England (1989-07-22)22 July 1989 (aged 27) 34 897 Harlequins
7 BK Dan Bibby  England (1991-02-06)6 February 1991 (aged 25) 25 321  Unattached
8 FW James Davies  Wales (1990-10-25)25 October 1990 (aged 25) 14 180 Scarlets
9 BK Ollie Lindsay-Hague  England (1990-10-08)8 October 1990 (aged 25) 15 110 Harlequins
10 FW Sam Cross  Wales (1992-08-26)26 August 1992 (aged 23) 27 170 Newport
11 BK Marcus Watson  England (1991-06-27)27 June 1991 (aged 25) 32 424 Newcastle Falcons
12 BK Mark Bennett  Scotland (1993-02-03)3 February 1993 (aged 23) 2 35 Glasgow Warriors

2020 Olympic team

Great Britain qualified for the 2020 sevens event (competing as England), on 14 July 2019, defeating France 31–7 at Stade Michel Bendichou in Colomiers, France. The team for 2020 has yet to be announced. Simon Amor will be returning as coach for 2020.[12]

References

  1. "Great Britain team named for World Games 7's". ESPN. 2005-07-19. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  2. "Rugby". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 2012-08-01. Retrieved 2015-05-23.
  3. "International Board backs British Olympic sevens team". BBC Sport. 2011-04-06. Retrieved 2015-05-23.
  4. Jack de Menezes (2014-02-06). "No chance of a Team GB in rugby sevens at Rio after IOC and IRB ruling states only one of England, Wales or Scotland can represent Britain". The Independent. Retrieved 2015-05-23.
  5. "Team GB rugby sevens team embark on road to Rio 2016 Olympics". The Telegraph. 2012-08-22. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
  6. "England seal spot for Team GB at Rio Olympics". BBC Sport. 2015-05-17. Retrieved 2015-05-23.
  7. "USA are rugby sevens worldbeaters – but they may still miss the Olympics". The Guardian. 2014-09-24. Retrieved 2015-05-23.
  8. Rugby Union. "Only one berth for England, Wales and Scotland to 'qualify' GB team". Telegraph. Retrieved 2015-05-23.
  9. Mackay, Duncan (2011-04-14). "Northern Ireland players banned from representing Team GB in rugby sevens at Rio 2016". Insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 2015-05-23.
  10. "Olympics Daytime". Rio 2016. 11 August 2016. CBC.
  11. "Team GB Names 2016 GB Olympic Men's Rugby Team". teamgb.com. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  12. "Amor to lead Great Britain at 2020 Olympic Games". England Rugby. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
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