The sport of rugby can trace its origins back to medieval times in several European countries, but it was between 1845 and 1848 that the modern rugby codes were established by pupils from a school in the English town of Rugby and the University of Cambridge. In 1871, the first national federation was formed; two years later, the discipline of rugby sevens was conceived by two butchers, Ned Haig and David Sanderson, as a fund-raising event in Melrose, Scotland. In 1886, the International Rugby Board (now known as World Rugby) was established.
Brief overview of the rules
Although plenty of rugby variants have emerged over the years—including rugby league, beach rugby and flag rugby—the two main forms of the game remain 15-player rugby union and rugby sevens. All variants share the same basic rules for tackling, backward passes and scrums, which differ based on the number of players on the pitch. Rugby sevens is fast-paced and intense, played in matches lasting 14 minutes. It is an exceptionally testing version of the sport, in which players make more sprints and score more tries than in rugby union. Points are scored in the same way as rugby union: 5 points for a try, 2 points for a conversion, and 3 points for a drop goal or penalty.
Olympic history
The history of rugby at the Olympic Games stretches over several periods. A men’s rugby union competition was first included at the 1900 Paris Games, and was contested again at the 1908, 1920 and 1924 Olympics. However, the sport was dropped from the Olympic programme following the 1924 Games in Paris.
In October 2009 the IOC voted to introduce the sevens version of the sport at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, and it has been part of the men’s and women’s programme ever since.
