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Wikipedia - Great Britain women's national rugby sevens team
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.
They qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics through England winning the 2019 Rugby Europe Women's Sevens Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Kazan. Great Britain finished in fourth place after losing in the bronze medal match to Fiji. They participated at the 2021 Canada Women's Sevens and won the tournament back to back in Vancouver and Edmonton.
History
When rugby sevens was admitted to the Summer Olympics in 2009, it was unknown how Great Britain could qualify. England, Wales and Scotland; three of the four nations that make up the United Kingdom that Great Britain represents at the Olympics, all compete separately within international sevens competition. It was suggested that if any of them finished in an Olympic qualifying spot then Great Britain would qualify through them. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Rugby Board (IRB) clarified that Great Britain must select only one nation to be the only one able to obtain qualification as it was viewed that the three individual nations could give Great Britain three chances to qualify compared with other nations only having one. The individual British rugby unions selected England to be the lead nation due to their professional sevens set-up. This also meant that Wales and Scotland could no longer participate in the repecharge competition on behalf of the Sevens Women Grand Prix Series if they qualified due to participation in the repecharge being limited to nations who could qualify for the Olympics. England secured Great Britain's qualification to the 2016 Summer Olympics by finishing fourth in the 2015 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series after defeating the United States in the third place playoff in Amsterdam.
Following qualification for the 2016 Summer Olympics, a new Great Britain Sevens organization was set up called GB Rugby Sevens. Despite England being the nation that qualified Great Britain for the Olympics, it was announced that the Welsh Rugby Union and the Scottish Rugby Union would join the Rugby Football Union for Women in forming the executive board and committee to decide the selection of the team. In May 2015, Joe Lydon was appointed as the performance manager responsible for recruiting the head coach for the Great Britain women's rugby sevens team.
The team is known for their speed, agility, and physicality on the field, as well as their ability to work together as a cohesive unit. They are led by experienced coaches who have helped to develop their skills and strategies, and they are constantly working to improve their game.
The Great Britain 7s Women's team has had a number of notable achievements in recent years, including winning the bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. They have also had success in the World Rugby Sevens Series, finishing in the top three in several tournaments.
Overall, the Great Britain 7s Women's rugby union team is a force to be reckoned with on the international stage, and they continue to inspire young girls and women around the world to take up the sport of rugby.