Rugby sevens is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. Rugby sevens is administered by World Rugby, the body responsible for rugby union worldwide. The game is popular at all levels, with amateur and club tournaments generally held in the summer months. Sevens is one of the most well distributed forms of rugby, and is popular in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and especially in the South Pacific.
Sport in the United Kingdom plays an important role in British culture and the United Kingdom has played a significant role in the organisation and spread of sporting culture globally. In the infancy of many organised sports, the Home Nations were heavily involved in setting out the formal rules of many sports and formed among the earliest separate governing bodies, national teams and domestic league competitions. After 1922, some sports formed separate bodies for Northern Ireland, though many continued to be organised on an all-Ireland basis. For this reason, in many though not all sports, most domestic and international sport is carried on a Home Nations basis, and England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland are recognised as national entities.
The Ireland national rugby sevens team competes in several international rugby sevens competitions. The team is governed by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU).
Rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics was held over six days in August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. The 2016 Olympics was the debut for rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics, though rugby union was last played at the 1924 games.
The football tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympics was held from 21 July to 7 August 2021 in Japan.
The Great Britain national rugby sevens team is the women's Olympic representative team of Great Britain at the rugby sevens tournament at the Summer Olympic Games. The team played their first competitive match at the 2016 Summer Olympics after England finished in an Olympic qualifying place at the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series.
The 2015 Rugby Europe Women's Sevens Grand Prix Series was held over two legs in the cities of Kazan and Brive. France won the championship and qualified for the women's rugby sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Russia finished second and qualified the 2016 Rugby World Women's Sevens Olympic Repechage Tournament. A further seven teams qualified for the 2015 Rugby Europe Women's Sevens Olympic Repechage Tournament.
The 2018 Hong Kong Sevens was the 43rd edition of the Hong Kong Sevens tournament, and the seventh tournament of the 2017–18 World Rugby Sevens Series. The performance from this tournament determined the first fourteen seedings of the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament alongside the past year's series and the previous six event of the 2017–18 season.
The 2018–19 World Rugby Sevens Series, known for sponsorship reasons as the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, was the 20th annual series of rugby sevens tournaments for national men's rugby sevens teams. The Sevens Series has been run by World Rugby since 1999–2000. This series also, for the second time, doubled as a qualifier for the 2020 Summer Olympics, with the top four countries qualifying automatically.
The 2018–19 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series was the seventh edition of the global circuit for women's national rugby sevens teams, organised by World Rugby. Six tournament events were scheduled on the 2018–19 circuit with twelve teams competing in each tournament. The series also, for the second time, doubled as an Olympic qualifier.
Twelve teams qualified for men's rugby sevens at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Japan automatically qualified as host, with the top four teams of the 2018–19 World Rugby Sevens Series securing their spots. Afterwards, qualification was determined with each of the six continental confederations determining a representative, and the remaining qualification spot determined through an international sevens tournament.
Twelve teams qualify for women's rugby sevens at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Japan automatically qualifies as host, with the top four teams of the 2018–19 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series securing their spots. Afterwards, qualification is determined with each of the six continental confederations determining a representative, and the remaining qualification spot determined through an international sevens tournament to be determined.
The 2019 Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series was the eighteenth edition of the continental championship for rugby sevens in Europe. The series took place over two legs, the first at Moscow in Russia and the second at Łódź in Poland.
The 2019 London Sevens was the penultimate event of the 2018–19 World Rugby Sevens Series and the nineteenth edition of the London Sevens. The tournament was held at Twickenham Stadium, London on 25–26 May 2019.
The 2019 Paris Sevens was the final event of the 2018–19 World Rugby Sevens Series and the twelfth edition of the France Sevens. The tournament was held on 1–2 June 2019 at Stade Jean-Bouin, Paris.
The 2019 Rugby Europe Women's Sevens Trophy is the second division of Rugby Europe's 2019 sevens season. This edition is due to be hosted by the cities of Budapest and Lisbon on 8–23 June. The two highest-placed teams will be promoted to the 2020 Grand Prix and eligible to compete in the European Olympic qualifying tournament. The two teams with the fewest points will be relegated to the 2020 Conference.
The 2019 Rugby Europe Sevens Olympic Qualifying Tournament was held on 13–14 July in Colomiers at Stade Michel Bendichou. The champion of the tournament, England, qualified on behalf of Great Britain for the European spot in the 2020 Summer Olympics. The two runners-up, France and Ireland, advance to the 2020 Olympic repechage tournament.
The 2019 Rugby Europe Women's Sevens Olympic Qualifying Tournament was held on 13–14 July in Kazan at Central Stadium. The champion of the tournament will be eligible to qualify for the European spot in the 2020 Summer Olympics. The two runners-up will be eligible for bids at a 2020 Olympic repechage tournament.
The 2019 Dubai Sevens was the first tournament within the 2019–20 World Rugby Sevens Series and was the 20th international edition and the 50th overall of the Dubai Sevens since it began in 1970. It was held on 5–7 December 2019 at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The 2021 Rugby Europe Women's Sevens Championship Series was the 2021 edition of Rugby Europe's annual rugby sevens season. The first edition of the European Championships Series, with the previous tournament title "Grand Prix" being abandoned.
France 
Ukraine 
Russia 
Ireland 
