Great Britain national rugby sevens team

Great Britain

Union	British Olympic Association
Coach(es)	Tony Roques
Captain(s)	Robbie Fergusson
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 Janeiro	Team
European Games
	2023 Kraków–Małopolska	Team

The Great Britain men's national rugby sevens team is the men's international rugby 7s team that is the representative team of Great Britain. The team competes in the annual World Rugby Sevens Series as well as the Olympic Games and European Games. Historically, Great Britain was represented in rugby 7s by England, Scotland and Wales but the inclusion of Rugby 7s at the Olympic and European Games, together with funding issues has resulted in the formation of a permanent combined team from 2023.^[1] The separate England, Scotland and Wales teams play in the Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.

After first having played at the World Games in 2001 and 2005,^[2] Great Britain made their debut at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where they won the silver medal, losing the final to Fiji.

History

When rugby sevens was admitted to the Summer Olympics in 2009,^[3] it was not initially known how Great Britain could qualify.^[4] As the three nations that make up Great Britain, England, Wales and Scotland, 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.^[5] 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.^[6] England secured Great Britain's qualification to the 2016 Summer Olympics by finishing fourth in the 2015 Sevens World Series.^[7][8]

Wales rugby sevens winger Lloyd Lewis has said that the decision to combine three nations to form GB sevens teams will limit players' opportunities. He added that a GB team means that there will be more competition for places and less availability for Welsh players.^[9]

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.^[10] 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) controversially ruled that Northern Ireland players would be compelled to represent the Ireland national rugby sevens team as rugby in Ireland is organised on an All-Ireland basis.^[11] However, it was stated that Northern Irish and Ulster contracted players could legally challenge that determination, particularly if Ireland failed to qualify.^[10]

Tournament history

World Series

Season	Position
1999–2019	Did not participate
2021	2nd
2021–22	17th
2022–23	9th
Total	3

World Games

World Games Rugby 7s
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	L	D
2001	Quarter final	7	5	1	4	0
2005	Third play-off	4	5	2	3	0
2009	Did not participate
2013
Total	0 Titles	2/4	10	3	7	0

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.^[12]

Olympic Games record Year Round Position Pld W L D 2016 Final 2nd 6 5 1 0 2020 Semi-final 4th 6 3 3 0 Total - - 12 8 4 0

Olympic Games History 2016 Pool stage  Great Britain 31–7  Kenya Win Pool stage  Great Britain 21–19  Japan Win Pool stage  Great Britain 21–19  New Zealand Win Quarter-final  Great Britain 5–0  Argentina Win Semi-final  Great Britain 7–5  South Africa Win Final  Great Britain 7–43  Fiji Loss

Players

Current squad

The following players have been selected to represent Great Britain during the 2023–24 SVNS tournament beginning in December 2023.

Note: Caps reflect the total number of SVNS events competed in as of the 2023 Dubai Sevens.

References

This page was last edited on 4 February 2024, at 13:55