The Rugby Sevens is set to get underway at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games from July 24.
Australia has two genuine gold-medal chances as both sides enter with plenty of expectations after strong world series campaigns.
The men will kick off the tournament two days before the Olympic ceremony, with Australia featuring in the opening game against Samoa on July 24.
The finals will be held on July 28 as John Manenti’s side hunt for their first medal, with the women kicking off the following day.
The women’s finals will be held on July 31, with Australia one of the teams to beat after the SVNS title.
WHEN DO AUSTRALIA PLAY IN THE RUGBY SEVENS OLYMPIC GAMES?
The Men’s Sevens side will take the field in their opening Olympic game against Samoa on July 24 (11:30 pm) at Stade de France.
This will be followed by a clash with Kenya (3:00 am) before taking on Argentina (July 25, 10:30 pm)
As for the Women, they open their campaign against South Africa on July 29 (midnight).
They face Great Britain (3:30 am) and Ireland (10:30 pm) to finish their pool stages.
WHAT CHANNEL IS AUSTRALIA’S RUGBY SEVENS OLYMPIC GAMES ON?
Australia’s Rugby Sevens campaign will be shown LIVE on Stan Sport and the Nine Network.
Every Rugby Sevens match from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be shown ad-free, live and on-demand in 4K on Stan Sport.
Along with this, the Nine Network will have two dedicated free-to-air channels that will show several Olympic sports, including the Rugby Sevens, along with on 9Now
HOW TO WATCH THE PARIS OLYMPICS RUGBY SEVENS?
The Nine Network and Stan Sport has exclusive rights to broadcast every event of the Tokyo Olympics in Australia.
Every Rugby Sevens match from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be shown ad-free, live and on-demand in 4K on Stan Sport.
Along with this, the Nine Network will have two dedicated free-to-air channels that will show several Olympic sports, including the Rugby Sevens, along with on 9Now.
AUSTRALIA’S PARIS OLYMPICS RUGBY SEVENS TEAMS
MEN’S
1. Henry Hutchison
2. Ben Dowling
3. Corey Toole
4. Dietrich Roache
5. Mark Nawaqanitawase
6. Henry Paterson
7. Hayden Sargeant
8. James Turner
9. Matt Gonzalez
10. Nick Malouf (c)
11. Maurice Longbottom
12. Nathan Lawson
Reserves: Michael Icely and Josh Turner
WOMEN’S
1. Bienne Terita
2. Sharni Smale
3. Faith Nathan
4. Dominique Du Toit
5. Teagan Levi
6. Sariah Paki
7. Charlotte Caslick (c)
8. Kaitlin Shave
9. Tia Hinds
10. Isabella Nasser
11. Maddison Levi
12. Bridget Clark
Reserves: Kahli Henwood and Sidney Taylor
RUGBY SEVENS PARIS OLYMPIC SCHEDULE
*All games AEST and held at Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Men’s Rugby Sevens Fixtures
POOL STAGES
Wednesday July 24
Pool B: Australia v Samoa, 11:30 pm
Thursday July 25
Pool B: Argentina v Kenya, 12:00 am
Pool C: France v USA, 12:30 am
Pool C: Fiji v Uruguay, 1:00 am
Pool A: Ireland v South Africa, 1:30 am
Pool A: New Zealand v Japan, 2:00 am
Pool B: Australia v Kenya, 3:00 am
Pool B: Argentina v Samoa, 3:30 am
Pool C: France v Uruguay, 4:00 am
Pool C: Fiji v USA, 4:30 am
Pool A: Ireland v Japan, 5:00 am
Pool A: New Zealand v South Africa, 5:30 am
Pool B: Samoa v Kenya, 10:00 pm
Pool B: Argentina v Australia, 10:30 pm
Pool C: USA v Uruguay, 11:00 pm
Pool C: Fiji v France, 11:30 pm
Friday July 26
Pool A: South Africa v Japan, 12:00 am
Pool A: New Zealand v Ireland, 12:30 am
QUARTER-FINALS
9th Place Semi Final: 9th Place v 12th Place, 4:00 am
9th Place Semi Final: 10th Place v 11th Place, 4:30 am
Quarter Final One: First Place Pool A v Second Best Third Place, 5:00 am
Quarter Final Two: Second Place Pool C v Second Place Pool B, 5:30 am
Quarter Final Three: First Place Pool C v Second Place Pool A, 6:00 am
Quarter Final Four: First Place Pool B v Best Third Place, 6:30 am
SEMI FINALS
Saturday July 27
Fifth Place Semi Final: Loser Quarter Final One v Loser Quarter Two, 10:30 pm
Fifth Place Semi Final: Loser Quarter Final Three v Loser Quarter Four, 11:00 pm
Semi Final One: Winner Quarter Final One v Winner Quarter Final Two, 11:30 pm
Sunday July 28
Semi Final Two: Winner Quarter Final Three v Winner Quarter Final Four, 12:00 pm
FINALS
11th Place Playoff – 12:30 am
9th Place Playoff – 1:00 am
7th Place Playoff – 2:00 am
5th Place Playoff – 2:30 am
Bronze Medal Match – 3:00 am
Gold Medal Match – 3:45 am
Women’s Rugby Sevens Fixtures
Sunday July 28
POOL STAGES
Pool B: Ireland v Great Britain, 11:30 pm
Monday July 29
Pool B: Australia v South Africa, 12:00 am
Pool C: USA v Japan, 12:30 am
Pool C: France v Brazil, 1:00 am
Pool A: Fiji v Canada, 1:30 am
Pool A: New Zealand v China, 2:00 am
Pool B: Ireland v South Africa, 3:00 am
Pool B: Australia v Great Britain, 3:30 am
Pool C: USA v Brazil, 4:00 am
Pool C: France v Japan, 4:30 am
Pool A: Fiji v China, 5:00 am
Pool A: New Zealand v Canada, 5:30 am
Pool B: Great Britain v South Africa, 10:00 pm
Pool B: Australia v Ireland, 10:30 pm
Pool C: Japan v Brazil, 11:00 pm
Pool C: France v USA, 11:30 pm
Tuesday July 30
Pool A: Canada v China, 12:00 am
Pool A: New Zealand v Fiji, 12:30 am
QUARTER-FINALS
9th Place Semi Final: 9th Place v 12th Place, 4:00 am
9th Place Semi Final: 10th Place v 11th Place, 4:30 am
Quarter Final One: First Place Pool A v Second Best Third Place, 5:00 am
Quarter Final Two: Second Place Pool C v Second Place Pool B, 5:30 am
Quarter Final Three: First Place Pool C v Second Place Pool A, 6:00 am
Quarter Final Four: First Place Pool B v Best Third Place, 6:30 am
SEMI FINALS
Fifth Place Semi Final: Loser Quarter Final One v Loser Quarter Two, 10:30 pm
Fifth Place Semi Final: Loser Quarter Final Three v Loser Quarter Four, 11:00 pm
Semi Final One: Winner Quarter Final One v Winner Quarter Final Two, 11:30 pm
Wednesday July 31
Semi Final Two: Winner Quarter Final Three v Winner Quarter Final Four, 12:00 pm
FINALS
11th Place Playoff – 12:30 am
9th Place Playoff – 1:00 am
7th Place Playoff – 2:00 am
5th Place Playoff – 2:30 am
Bronze Medal Match – 3:00 am
Gold Medal Match – 3:45 am
RUGBY SEVENS RULES AND TOURNAMENT FORMAT
With Rugby Sevens still a relatively new sport in the Olympic calendar, here is everything you need to know about the fast-growing sport.
Teams have been drawn into three pools of four, with the top two nations automatically qualifying for the quarter-finals.
They will be joined in the finals by the two-highest third-place finishes from the group stages.
The format has significant changes from the 15-a-side format, which includes:
- 7 players per team on the field
- Five substitutes, with five interchanges
- Seven-minute halves
- Maximum of two minutes half-time
- Matches drawn after regulation in finals are continued into golden point and extra in multiple 5-minute periods.
- All conversion attempts must be drop-kicked and taken within 30 seconds instead of having the option to place-kick
- Three player scrums instead of the regular eight.
- Kick-offs: in sevens, the team which has just scored kicks off, rather than the conceding team.
- Players who receive a yellow card will be sidelined for only two minutes
