View source for Rugby union at the Summer Olympics

{{short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{about|the 15-a-side version of the game, which was discontinued at the Summer Olympics after 1924, as well as the [[Rugby union at the Summer Olympics#Efforts for re-inclusion|History of the subsequent efforts to re-include rugby fifteens]]|the 7-a-side tournament|Rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox Olympic sport
| image       = Rugby union pictogram.svg
| size        = 150
| code        = RUG
| sport       = rugby union
| menevents   = 1
| womenevents = 1
}}

[[Rugby union]] has been a men's medal sport at the modern [[Summer Olympic Games]], being played at four of the first seven competitions. The sport debuted at the [[1900 Summer Olympics|1900 Paris games]] where the gold medal was won by the host nation. It was subsequently featured at the [[1908 Summer Olympics|London games in 1908]], the [[1920 Summer Olympics|Antwerp games in 1920]] and the [[1924 Summer Olympics|Paris games in 1924]].

Shortly after the 1924 games, the [[International Olympic Committee]] (IOC) dropped rugby union as an Olympic sport. Since then there have been numerous attempts to bring the sport back to the Olympic programme. In October 2009 the IOC voted at [[121st International Olympic Committee Session|its session]] in Copenhagen to include the [[Rugby sevens|sevens]] version of the sport in the [[2016 Summer Olympics]] in Rio de Janeiro.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympic_games/8292584.stm |title=Golf & rugby voted into Olympics |date=9 October 2009 |publisher=BBC |access-date=4 January 2010}}</ref> The event made its debut in an Olympic programme at the [[2014 Summer Youth Olympics]].

==Inclusion==
The sport was introduced by [[Pierre de Coubertin]], who is famous for reviving the modern Olympics. He also helped to establish rugby in France, refereeing the first [[Top 14|domestic French club championship]] in 1892 and [[France national rugby union team|France]]'s first international, on New Year's Day, 1906, at [[Parc des Princes]].<ref name="frchampionship">{{Cite news |last=Mortimer |first=Gavin |work=The Guardian |title=Where les Anglais fear to tread |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2006/feb/05/features.sport11 |access-date=15 May 2006 |location=London |date=5 February 2006}}</ref><ref name="mosley">{{Cite web |work=uk.geocities.com/moseleyfan |title=Rugby football in the Olympics |url=http://uk.geocities.com/moseleyfan/historic/MoseleyOlympic.html |access-date=15 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051105172156/http://uk.geocities.com/moseleyfan/historic/MoseleyOlympic.html |archive-date=5 November 2005}}</ref> Coubertin formed the IOC in 1894, but rugby union was not featured until the II Olympiad.

===1900===
[[File:Rugby2 1900.jpg|thumb|250px|Scene of the rugby game between [[France at the 1900 Summer Olympics|France]] and [[Germany at the 1900 Summer Olympics]]]]
{{Main|Rugby union at the 1900 Summer Olympics}}
Three [[National Olympic Committee]]s (NOCs), France, Germany and Great Britain, entered teams at the [[1900 Summer Olympics|1900 games]]. 

The teams were not national teams in the current sense of the word: the [[Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques]] represented France, the [[Moseley Rugby Football Club|Moseley Wanderers RFC]] represented Great Britain, and the [[SC 1880 Frankfurt|FC 1880 Frankfurt]] represented Germany.<ref name="mosley" /> 
Rules were also different from today's: while points for penalties and [[Try (rugby)|conversions]] were worth three and two points respectively, the same as in the modern game, three points were awarded for [[try (rugby)|tries]] (as opposed to the modern five), while four points were given for a [[drop goal]] (as opposed to the modern three). 

Also, four points were awarded for a [[goal from mark]]; this would be reduced to three points in 1905, and was deleted  from the rules in 1977.

[[France national rugby union team|France]] won the gold, beating Great Britain by 27 points to 8 and defeating Germany by 27 points to 17. Some sources list the German team as second on the points difference, but no such determination was made in 1900.<ref name="mallon1900">{{Cite book |first=Bill |last=Mallon |title=The 1900 Olympic Games – Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary |publisher=McFarland |year=1998 |isbn=0-7864-0378-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/1900olympicgames00mall }}</ref> 6,000 people watched the game between France and Great Britain, which was the largest crowd at the Games.<ref name="sportnet">{{Cite web |work=sportnetwork.net |title=A short but eventful Olympic Rugby history |url=http://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s103/st94910.htm |access-date=21 May 2006}}</ref> 

Two players on the French team were not of French nationality: [[Constantin Henriquez]] was from Haiti and [[André Roosevelt]] was an American, therefore, later IOC attributed the French medal to the [[Mixed team at the 1900 Summer Olympics|Mixed team]]. [[Constantin Henriquez]], a player on the French team, is the first known coloured athlete to compete in the Olympic Games.<ref>{{Cite book |first=David Kenneth |last=Wiggins |title=African Americans in sports |volume=1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/africanamericans01wigg/page/264 264] |publisher=Sharpe Reference |year=2004 |isbn=0-7656-8055-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/africanamericans01wigg/page/264 }}</ref>

===1908===
[[File:Olympic Rugby 1908.jpg|right|thumb|250px|1908 Olympic Gold Final Wallabies v Cornwall]]
{{Main|Rugby union at the 1908 Summer Olympics}}
Rugby union was not played at the [[1904 Summer Olympics|1904 games]] in [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], nor at the [[1906 Summer Olympics|1906 Intercalated Games]], but was included in [[Rugby union at the 1908 Summer Olympics|1908]], when the Olympics were held in the sport's native country. 

The [[Rugby Football Union]] (RFU) was involved in the organization of the sport at this edition of the Olympics. Like the 1900 Games, three teams entered: Australasia (representing Australia and New Zealand), France, and hosts Great Britain (which included the whole of the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]]), but France pulled out prior to the commencement of the tournament, due to being unable to field a representative team. 

Australasia was represented by the [[Australia national rugby union team|Wallabies]], who were already on tour in Britain. As the best English and Welsh players were on tour in New Zealand at the time,<ref name="sportnet" /> Great Britain was represented by the [[Rugby union in Cornwall|Cornwall]] county team,<ref name=Barker>{{cite web |first=Philip |last=Barker |url=http://www.olympics.org.uk/contentpage.aspx?page=492 |title=Rugby World Cup Stirs Olympic Memories |publisher=British Olympic Association |access-date=26 October 2010 |archive-date=24 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124080205/http://www.olympics.org.uk/contentpage.aspx?page=492 |url-status=dead }}</ref> who were chosen by the RFU as an appropriate side after they defeated [[Durham, England|Durham]] to win the 1907 English County Championship. The choice of Cornwall was controversial, as only three of their players had ever represented [[England national rugby union team|England]] and the Wallabies had defeated them 18 points to five.<ref name="rfhistory">{{Cite web |work=rugbyfootballhistory.com |title=Rugby at the Olympics |url=http://www.rugbyfootballhistory.com/olympics.htm |access-date=15 May 2006}}</ref>

As expected, Australasia defeated Great Britain, claiming the gold medal, the score being 32 points to three. The match at the White City Stadium was played under poor conditions, in [[fog]] and on a slippery field.<ref name="mallon1908">{{Cite book |first1=Bill |last1=Mallon |first2=Ian |last2=Buchanan |title=The 1908 Olympic Games – Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary |publisher=McFarland |year=2000 |isbn=0-7864-0598-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/resultsofearlymo00mall_0 }}</ref> Two of the Australian team members would later win another Olympic gold medal: [[Daniel Carroll (rugby union)|Danny Carroll]] would win another rugby gold with the United States in [[1920 Summer Olympics|1920]],<ref>{{cite Sports-Reference
 |check-wikidata=no 
 |title=Danny Carroll 
 |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ca/dan-carroll-1.html 
 |access-date=2 March 2010 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020233655/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ca/dan-carroll-1.html 
 |archive-date=20 October 2012 
}}</ref> while [[Sydney Middleton]] would win a gold medal in [[Rowing (sport)|rowing]] at the [[1912 Summer Olympics|1912 Games]], where rugby was not on the programme.<ref>{{cite Sports-Reference|check-wikidata=no |title=Syd Middleton |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/mi/sidney-middleton-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222231457/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/search/athlete_search.cgi?search=sidney+middleton+ |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 February 2020 |access-date=2 March 2010 }}</ref> The sport also failed to appear on the provisional schedule of the [[1916 Summer Olympics]], which were cancelled due to [[World War I]].

===1920===
[[File:1920 US olympic rugby union team.jpg|thumb|250px|1920 USA Rugby Team]]
{{Main|Rugby union at the 1920 Summer Olympics}}
A campaign to send an American side to the 1920 games in [[Antwerp]] started in California after a [[University of California, Berkeley|Berkeley]] rugby union touring party returned from [[British Columbia]] undefeated in 1920.<ref name="rfhistory"/> The [[United States Olympic Committee]] (USOC) granted permission for their entry. A pool of players from [[Stanford University|Stanford]], [[University of California, Berkeley|Berkeley]], and [[Santa Clara University|Santa Clara]] made up the squad.<ref name="rfhistory"/> 1908 champion Danny Carroll, a player-coach at Stanford at the time, was the team's most prominent member. 

By the time the U.S. arrived in Antwerp, the [[Rugby union in Czechoslovakia|Czech]] and [[Rugby union in Romania|Romanian]] teams had withdrawn, while the English RFU had declined an invitation to enter a team, to avoid interfering with the start of the English domestic season.<ref name="buchanan">{{Cite journal |last=Buchanan |first=Ian |title=Rugby Football at the Olympic Games |journal=Journal of Olympic History |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=12–14}}</ref> This left France and the United States as the only teams.

Their match was played in rain in front of around 20,000 spectators, with the U.S., featuring many players new to the sport of rugby, causing a shock by winning by eight points to nil, all points being scored in the second half. 

One of the U.S. team members, [[Morris Kirksey]], took home two more medals from Antwerp, finishing second to [[Charles Paddock]] in the 100 meters dash, and anchoring the winning 4 × 100 meters relay team.<ref>{{cite Sports-Reference|check-wikidata=no |title=Morris Kirksey |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ki/morris-kirksey-1.html |access-date=2 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808114609/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ki/morris-kirksey-1.html |archive-date=8 August 2011 }}</ref>

===1924===
{{Main|Rugby union at the 1924 Summer Olympics}}
The sport was again included in the subsequent 1924 Games in Paris. The USOC decided to send a team, while the host nation and Romania entered.<ref name="rugbyolympic" >{{Cite web |work=sport.gov.gr |title=7th International Post Graduate Seminar on Olympic Studies |url=http://www.sport.gov.gr/2/24/243/2431/24314/243144/paper20.html |access-date=15 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080429135712/http://www.sport.gov.gr/2/24/243/2431/24314/243144/paper20.html |archive-date=29 April 2008}}</ref> The American team was again made up of mainly Californian players. The U.S. squad departed on a seven-day voyage to England on an [[ocean liner]] from New York City.<ref name="rugbyolympic" /><ref name="victory">{{Cite web |last=Jenkins |first=Mark |url=http://wesclark.com/rrr/1924_rugby_olympics.html |title=An American Victory in Paris |work=wesclark.com |access-date=15 May 2006}}</ref>

France defeated Romania 59-3<ref name="rugbyat">{{Cite web |work=wesclark.com |title=Rugby at the 1924 Olympics |url=http://wesclark.com/rrr/1924_olympics_2.html |access-date=15 May 2006}}</ref> and entered the final game as favorites.<ref name="ocrugby">{{Cite web |url=http://www.olympicclubrugby.com/History.html |title=Olympic Club Rugby – A Legacy of Excellence |work=ocrugby.com |access-date=21 May 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218140716/http://www.olympicclubrugby.com/History.html |archive-date=18 December 2008}}</ref> 

The gold medal game was played on 18 May in front of 30,000 spectators<ref name="rugby-pioneers.com">{{Cite web |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/rugby_pioneers/4420434966/in/album-72157710893737538/ |access-date=21 October 2020 |title=Rugby Olympic Games 1924 France USA back |date=9 March 2010 |publisher=Frederic Humbert}}</ref> at the Colombes venue.<ref name="rugbycomite">{{Cite book |last=Comité Olympique Français |year=1924 |title=Les Jeux De la VIIIe Olympiade Paris 1924, Rapport Officiel |publisher=Librairie De France |location=Paris }}</ref><ref name="historyfull">{{Cite web |last=Coppo |first=Richard |url=http://rugbymag.com/archive/2004/march/history.htm |title=The History of Rugby in the Olympic Games |work=rugbymag.com |access-date=21 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060518071610/http://rugbymag.com/archive/2004/march/history.htm |archive-date=18 May 2006}}</ref> During the final, French fans booed and hissed the American team throughout. French fans also threw bottles and rocks onto the field and at American players and officials, wild brawls broke out in the stands, and U.S. spectator Gideon Nelson was knocked unconscious after being hit in the face by a walking stick.

The Americans won the gold medal by 17-3. At the final whistle, French fans invaded the pitch, forcing police, and French players and officials, to protect the Americans. At the medal ceremony, ''The Star-Spangled Banner'' was drowned out by the booing and hissing of French fans, and the American team had to be escorted to their locker room under police protection.

Rare vintage footage of the 1924 Gold Medal match was included in the rugby documentary, [https://web.archive.org/web/20180502140928/http://www.agiantawakens.com/ A Giant Awakens: the Rise of American Rugby].

==Exclusion==
The crowd violence during, and the pitch invasion after, the 1924 Olympic Final served to give rugby a poor image. This, combined with the problems of attracting sufficient teams to make it a viable competition, the desire to include more individual and women's events, and the departure of a major advocate when Baron Pierre De Coubertin stepped down as head of the Olympic Movement in 1925, marked the downfall of rugby at the Olympics.<ref name="mosley" /><ref name="rugbyolympic"/> In 1928, the IOC turned down a request to stage rugby at the Amsterdam Games. 

An [[1936 FIRA Tournament|exhibition tournament]] was held at the [[1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Berlin Games]], with France, Germany, Italy and Romania competing. In what is the last rugby union match played at the Olympics as of 2021, France beat Germany in the final 19 to 14.<ref name="buchanan"/><ref name="or91">{{Cite journal |title=Rugby: Olympic tackles and scrums |last=Laget |first=Serge |journal=Olympic Review |volume=1991 |issue=288/289 |pages=510–513}}</ref>

In 1976, 22 African countries and [[Guyana]] demanded that New Zealand be banned from the [[1976 Summer Olympics|Olympics]] in [[Montreal]] due to a New Zealand rugby team touring South Africa, which had been banned from the Olympics since 1964 because of its [[apartheid]] politics. 

As rugby union was no longer an Olympic sport, the IOC declined to ban New Zealand, and these 23 nations boycotted the 1976 Olympics.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/17/newsid_3555000/3555450.stm |title=1976: African countries boycott Olympics |publisher=BBC News |access-date=2 March 2010 |date=17 July 1976}}</ref>

==Efforts for re-inclusion==
===Fifteens===
[[File:Rugby by Jean Jacoby.png|right|250px|thumb|The drawing ''Rugby'' by [[Luxembourgeois]] painter [[Jean Jacoby]], which earned him a gold in [[Art competitions at the 1928 Summer Olympics|a 1928 Olympic art competition]], after the sport had been dropped]]
Italy in [[1960 Summer Olympics|1960]], the [[Soviet Union]] in [[1980 Summer Olympics|1980]], and South Korea in [[1988 Summer Olympics|1988]] made requests to have rugby union brought back.<ref name="or1956">{{Cite journal |title=The Game of Rugby in Rome? |journal=Bulletin du Comité International Olympique |volume=1956 |issue=55 |pages=55–56}}</ref> The 1980 request did not pass, and the 1988 games came close but failed to see the sport's admission, which was backed by the [[International Rugby Board|International Rugby Football Board]] (now, World Rugby (WR)).<ref name="mosley" /><ref name="rugbyat" /><ref name="ausrugby">{{Cite web|work=rugby.com.au |title=RUGBY SEVENS READY TO OFFER WORLD CUP TO OLYMPICS |url=http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2002_october/rugby_sevens_ready_to_offer_world_cup_to_oly_14801,7891.html |access-date=25 May 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060825194215/http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2002_october/rugby_sevens_ready_to_offer_world_cup_to_oly_14801%2C7891.html |archive-date=25 August 2006 }}</ref>

Apart from supporting the individual host cities' requests, the IRB did not focus its own efforts on returning the sport to the Olympics until the early 1990s, when efforts began to reunite the two movements with a series of informal meetings between the then IRB Secretary, [[Keith Rowlands]], and the [[British Olympic Association]] Secretary, Dick Palmer. In 1994, when [[Vernon Pugh]] QC of Wales was elected Chairman of the IRB, the march towards Olympic recognition began in earnest. Pugh convinced the IRB Council that Olympic membership – initially as a non-participation sport – would be beneficial to rugby and offer the IRB member unions membership of their National Olympic Committees.  Many European Federations, such as France, Italy and Romania, had been members of their National Olympic Committees for decades. The demand to get rugby back in the Olympics mounted as more rugby nations from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas joined the IRB, because it was a sport seen as providing a realistic medal opportunity for a number of smaller nations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irb.com/newsmedia/news/newsid=2024836.html |title=Help Get Rugby Back into the Olympic Games |work=irb.com |access-date=2 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090612114338/http://www.irb.com/newsmedia/news/newsid%3D2024836.html |archive-date=12 June 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/7061471.stm |title=Rogge voices Olympic rugby doubts |publisher=BBC Sport |date=30 October 2007 |access-date=2 March 2010}}</ref>

A significant step in the process of acceptance back into the Olympic Movement was achieved at a ceremony held in Cardiff in November 1994, when the IRB was officially confirmed as a Recognised International Federation of the IOC. At that ceremony, International Olympic Committee President, [[Juan Antonio Samaranch]], pointed out that rugby's history and values were very much in tune with the Olympic philosophy and traditions. This historic meeting in Cardiff led to IRB representation at annual IOC meetings and consideration for inclusion in the programme of future Olympic Games.<ref name="1990s">{{Cite web|work=irb.com |title=RUGBY IN THE OLYMPICS: HISTORY |url=http://www.irb.com/rugbyandtheolympics/history.html |access-date=12 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810064813/http://www.irb.com/rugbyandtheolympics/history.html |archive-date=10 August 2011 }}</ref> In 2002, a plan was presented to induct rugby sevens, golf and the Chinese martial art of [[Wushu (sport)|wushu]].<ref name="ausrugby" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Mackay |first=Duncan |work=The Guardian |title=Sevens captains hit back at 'joke' remark |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2005/jun/12/rugbyunion.duncanmackay |access-date=9 May 2006 |location=London |date=12 June 2005}}</ref>

===Sevens===
: ''For further information, see [[Rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics#Efforts to include rugby sevens in the Olympics]]''

==Men==
===Results===
{| class="wikitable" style="border-collapse:collapse; font-size:100%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan=2 width=5% | Year
! rowspan=2 width=15% | Host
! colspan=3 | Gold medal game
! colspan=3 | Bronze medal game
|-
! style="width:14%; background:gold;" | Gold
! width=9% | Score
! style="width:14%; background:silver;" | Silver
! style="width:14%; background:#cc9966;" | Bronze
! width=9% | Score
! style="width:14%; background:snow;" | 4th place
|-
| 1900<br />''[[Rugby union at the 1900 Summer Olympics|Details]]''
| {{flagicon|France}}<br />[[Paris]]
| '''{{flagicon|France|size=30px}}<br />[[Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques|France]]'''<br>(Mixed team)
| <ref name=Paris>Only two games were contested, France played both Germany and Great Britain, the French winning both matches. This saw the gold go to France, and both Germany and Great Britain are credited with silver and no bronze awarded.</ref>
| {{flagicon|North German Confederation|size=30px}}<br />[[SC 1880 Frankfurt|Germany]]<br/>{{flagicon|Great Britain|size=30px}}<br />[[Moseley Wanderers|Great Britain]]
| colspan=3 | three nations entered
|-
| 1908<br />''[[Rugby union at the 1908 Summer Olympics|Details]]''
| {{flagicon|Great Britain}}<br />[[London]]
| '''{{flagicon|Australasia|size=30px}}<br />[[Australia national rugby union team|Australasia]]'''
| '''32–3'''
| {{flagicon|Great Britain|size=30px}}<br />[[Cornwall Rugby Football Union|Great Britain]]
| colspan=3 | two nations entered 
|-
| 1920<br />''[[Rugby union at the 1920 Summer Olympics|Details]]''
| {{flagicon|Belgium}}<br />[[Antwerp]]
| '''{{flagicon|United States|1912|size=30px}}<br />[[United States national rugby union team|United States]]'''
| '''8–0'''
| {{flagicon|France|size=30px}}<br />[[France national rugby union team|France]]
| colspan=3 | two nations entered 
|-
| 1924<br />''[[Rugby union at the 1924 Summer Olympics|Details]]''
| {{flagicon|France}}<br />[[Paris]]
| '''{{flagicon|United States|1912|size=30px}}<br />[[United States national rugby union team|United States]]'''
| '''17–3'''
| {{flagicon|France|size=30px}}<br />[[France national rugby union team|France]]
| {{flagicon|Romania|size=30px}}<br />[[Romania national rugby union team|Romania]]
| <ref name=Paris2>United States beat the other two competitors in the Rugby tournament, winning the Gold.</ref>
| three nations entered
|-
|}

===Participating nations===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Nation|| [[Rugby union at the 1900 Summer Olympics|00]] || [[Rugby union at the 1908 Summer Olympics|08]] || [[Rugby union at the 1920 Summer Olympics|20]] || [[Rugby union at the 1924 Summer Olympics|24]] || Years
|-
|align=left| {{flagIOC|ANZ}} || – || {{gold01}} || – || – || 
|-
|align=left| {{flagIOC|FRA}} || {{gold01}}|| – || {{silver02}} || {{silver02}} ||
|-
|align=left| {{flagIOC|GER}} || {{silver02}} || – || – || – || 
|-
|align=left| {{flagIOC|GBR}} || {{silver02}} || {{silver02}} || – || – || 
|-
|align=left| {{flagIOC|ROM}} || – || – || – || {{bronze03}} ||
|-
|align=left| {{flagIOC|USA}} || – || – || {{gold01}} || {{gold01}} ||
|-
|align=left| {{flagIOC|ZZX}} || {{gold01}} || – || – || – ||
|-
|align=left| '''Total nations''' || '''3''' || '''2''' || '''2''' || '''3''' || 
|}

== Medal table ==
Accurate as of the conclusion of the 1924 Olympics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://olympanalyt.com/OlympAnalytics.php?param_pagetype=MedalsByCountries&param_dbversion=&param_country=&param_games=ALL&param_sport=Rugby |title=Olympic Analytics - Medals by Countries |website=olympanalyt.com |access-date=2022-01-31 |archive-date=4 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204204931/http://olympanalyt.com/OlympAnalytics.php?param_pagetype=MedalsByCountries&param_dbversion=&param_country=&param_games=ALL&param_sport=Rugby |url-status=dead }}</ref>
{{Medals table
 | caption        = 
 | host           = 
 | flag_template  = FlagIOCteam
 | event          = 
 | team           = 
 | gold_USA = 2 | silver_USA = 0 | bronze_USA = 0
 | gold_ANZ = 1 | silver_ANZ = 0 | bronze_ANZ = 0
 | gold_ZZX = 1 | silver_ZZX = 0 | bronze_ZZX = 0
 | gold_FRA = 1 | silver_FRA = 2 | bronze_FRA = 0
 | gold_GBR = 0 | silver_GBR = 2 | bronze_GBR = 0
 | gold_GER = 0 | silver_GER = 1 | bronze_GER = 0
 | gold_ROM = 0 | silver_ROM = 0 | bronze_ROM = 1
}}
<small>'''Updated:''' 1924 Summer Olympics</small>

==Notable rugby players involved in the Olympics==
[[File:J O Stockholm 1912 Bouin et Koleheimen.jpg|right|thumb|250px|French rugby player [[Jean Bouin]] (right) at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics]]

A number in other fields have also been notable rugby players, these include:

* [[Pierre de Coubertin]], founder of the modern Olympics, was a rugby fan and referee of the first ever French championship [[rugby union]] final on 20 March [[French Rugby Championship 1892|1892]] between [[Racing 92|Racing Club de France]] and [[Stade Français]].
* [[Jean Bouin]], {{nrut|France}} and track events.
* [[Stan Harris]]
* [[Eric Liddell]], {{nrut|Scotland}} and track events.
* [[Chris MacKintosh]]
* [[Heather Moyse]], [[Canada women's national rugby union team|Canada]] and gold in Olympic bobsleigh.
* [[James Cecil Parke]], {{nrut|Ireland}} and track events (also represented Ireland in cricket and golf, and as well as competing at [[The Championships, Wimbledon|Wimbledon]] and in the [[Davis Cup]])
* [[Noel Purcell (water polo)|Noel Purcell]], {{nrut|Ireland}} and gold in Olympic [[water polo]] – the first Olympic athlete to represent two countries, Great Britain and the [[Irish Free State]].
* [[David Robertson (golfer)]]
* [[Jacques Rogge]], [[Belgium national rugby union team|Belgium]] international and former IOC president.
* [[Constantin Henriquez]], Haitian rugby player who won gold for {{nrut|France}}.
* [[Attie van Heerden]]
* [[Danny Crates]], who has carried the torch twice at the Olympics, and is a notable Paralympian, also plays competitive rugby.
* [[Kevin O'Flanagan]], [[Ireland national rugby union team|Ireland]] international. Represented [[Olympic Council of Ireland|Ireland]] on the [[International Olympic Committee]]
* [[Victor Costello]], who competed for Ireland in the shot put at the 1992 Games in Barcelona before winning 39 caps for the Ireland rugby union team.

==Venues==
{{main|List of Olympic venues in rugby union}}
{| class="wikitable"
!Games
!City
!Stadium
!Capacity
!Ref.
|-
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[1900 Summer Olympics|1900]]
| [[Paris]]
| [[Vélodrome de Vincennes]]
| align=right|not listed
| align=center|<ref name=osg1900d>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080528012428/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1900/1900.pdf 1900 Summer Olympics official report.] pp. 15-16. Retrieved 14 November 2010. {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
|-
| {{flagicon|GBR}} [[1908 Summer Olympics|1908]]
| [[London]]
| [[White City Stadium]]
| align=right|97,000
| align=center|<ref name=osg1908>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222443/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1908/1908.pdf 1908 Summer Olympics official report.] pp. 32-5, 40. Retrieved 5 October 2010.</ref>
|-
| {{flagicon|Belgium}} [[1920 Summer Olympics|1920]]
| [[Antwerp]]
| [[Olympisch Stadion (Antwerp)|Olympisch Stadion]]
| align=right|12,771
| align=center|<ref name=osg20g>[https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1920/RUG/mens-rugby.html Sports-reference.com 1920 Summer Olympics rugby union.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007233941/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1920/RUG/mens-rugby.html |date=7 October 2012 }}</ref>
|-
| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[1924 Summer Olympics|1924]]
| [[Paris]]
| [[Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir|Stade de Colombes]]
| align=right|22,737
| align=center|<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080410085129/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1924/1924.pdf 1924 Olympics official report.] pp. 50-5, 96-7, 121, 152, 216, 222, 238, 248, 265, 318, 339, 375, 499, 503, 536. {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
|-
|}

==See also==
*[[List of Olympic venues in discontinued events]]
*[[Rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080705192133/http://www.irb.com/aboutirb/olympics/index.html Rugby & The Olympic Games] on IRB.com
*[http://www.olympic.org/uk/sports/past/index_uk.asp Olympic Sports of the Past] on olympic.org
*[http://www.olympic-rugby.org Petition to get Rugby back to the Olympics] on olympic-rugby.org
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130806114005/http://ur7s.com/olympic-rugby Guidelines on how to get rugby into the Olympics] on UR7s.com
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140714164548/http://www.rugbysevensgold2016.com/world-club-rugby-sevens-tournament-at-twickenham-this-weekend/] on RugbySevensGold2016.com
{{Rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics}}{{Sports at the Olympics}}
{{Olympic venues rugby}}
{{International rugby union}}

{{Good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rugby Union at the Summer Olympics}}
[[Category:Rugby union at the Summer Olympics| ]]
[[Category:Discontinued sports at the Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Rugby union at multi-sport events|Olympic Games]]
[[Category:Defunct rugby union competitions for national teams|Olympics]]