Rugby sevens at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's qualification

Twelve teams qualify for women's rugby sevens at the 2020 Summer Olympics (postponed to 2021^[1] due to the COVID-19 pandemic). 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.^[2]^[3]

Table

Event	Dates	Location	Quotas	Qualifier
Host	—	—	1	Japan
2018–19 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series	20 October 2018 – 16 June 2019	Various	4	New Zealand
				United States
				Canada
				Australia
2019 South American Qualifying Tournament	1–2 June 2019	Lima	1	Brazil
2019 RAN Women's Sevens	6–7 July 2019	George Town	0^{[note 1]}	—
2019 European Qualifying Tournament	13–14 July 2019	Kazan	1	Great Britain^{[note 2]}
2019 Africa Women's Sevens	12–13 October 2019	Jemmal	1	Kenya^{[note 3]}
2019 Oceania Women's Sevens Championship	7–9 November 2019	Suva	1	Fiji
2019 Asian Qualifying Tournament	9–10 November 2019	Guangzhou	1	China
2020 Final Olympic Qualification Tournament	19–20 June 2021^[5]	Monaco	2^{[note 1]}	France
2020 Final Olympic Qualification Tournament	19–20 June 2021^[5]	Monaco	2^{[note 1]}	ROC
Total				12

Notes:

^ ^a ^b With both the United States and Canada advancing to the tournament through securing top four slots in the 2018–19 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series, the spot for the RAN champion was re-allocated, allowing the final Olympic qualifying tournament to have two teams qualify for the Olympic Games.
^ Great Britain qualified for the Olympics through England's performance as England were the designated home nation that could earn Olympic qualification for Great Britain. Rugby sevens players from Scotland and Wales, however, were eligible to be selected for the British team at the Olympic Games.
^ South Africa won the qualifying tournament but declined their spot due to a policy against accepting spots from continental tournaments. Kenya, as runner-up, qualified instead.^[4]

2018–19 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series

As a principal route for the tournament, four places were determined by performance in the series over six tournaments.^[6]

2018–19 Core Teams
Pos	Event Team	Glendale	Dubai	Sydney	Kitakyushu	Langford	Biarritz	Points total
1	New Zealand	20	20	20	12	20	18	110
2	United States	18	14	16	16	16	20	100
3	Canada	16	18	12	20	12	16	94
4	Australia	12	16	18	10	18	12	86
5	France	14	8	10	14	14	10	70
6	England^{[note 1]}	6	10	3	18	10	3	50
7	Russia	8	12	8	6	8	6	48
8	Ireland	10	6	14	8	2	1	41
9	Spain	4	3	6	3	6	14	36
10	Fiji	3	2	4	4	4	4	21
11	China	2	4	2	2	3	8	21

Notes:

^ By agreement between the three unions on the island of Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales), England represented Great Britain in qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Sevens.^[7] The final make-up of the Great Britain women's team was determined by the British Olympic Association.

Africa

Rugby Africa held the 2019 Africa Women's Sevens on 12–13 October 2019 at Jemmal, Tunisia.^[8] With South Africa declining their Olympic qualification spot, Kenya advanced to the Olympic tournament.^[4]

Pool A

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Kenya	3	3	0	123	0	+123	9
Senegal	3	2	1	36	56	−20	7
Ghana	3	1	2	22	63	−41	5
Botswana	3	0	3	20	82	−62	3

Pool B

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
South Africa	3	3	0	99	0	+99	9
Uganda	3	2	1	25	47	−22	7
Zimbabwe	3	1	2	17	48	−31	5
Zambia	3	0	3	17	63	−46	3

Pool C

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Madagascar	3	3	0	89	7	+82	9
Tunisia	3	2	1	76	14	+62	7
Morocco	3	1	2	41	65	−24	5
Mauritius	3	0	3	0	120	−120	3

Knockout Round

Quarter-finals		Semi-finals		Final

13 Oct 2019 – 9:30 – Jemmal, Tunisia

South Africa	42
		13 Oct 2019 – 13:20 – Jemmal, Tunisia
Morocco	0
		South Africa	29
13 Oct 2019 – 9:52 – Jemmal, Tunisia
		Madagascar	0
Madagascar	24
				13 Oct 2019 – 16:30 – Jemmal, Tunisia
Senegal	5
				South Africa	15
13 Oct 2019 – 10:14 – Jemmal, Tunisia
				Kenya	14
Uganda	0
		13 Oct 2019 – 13:42 – Jemmal, Tunisia
Tunisia	33
		Tunisia	0
13 Oct 2019 – 10:36 – Jemmal, Tunisia
		Kenya	19	Third place
Kenya	36
				13 Oct 2019 – 16:04 – Jemmal, Tunisia
Zimbabwe	5
				Madagascar	5

				Tunisia	0

Asia

Asia Rugby held a tournament on 9–10 November 2019 in Guangzhou, China.^[9] Japan, already qualified for the Olympics as the host country, did not enter. China won the tournament and gained direct qualification.

Pool A

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
China	3	3	0	146	7	+139	9
Hong Kong	3	2	1	81	49	+32	7
Sri Lanka	3	1	2	26	87	–61	5
South Korea	3	0	3	5	115	–110	3

Pool B

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Kazakhstan	3	3	0	97	17	+80	9
Thailand	3	2	1	81	17	+64	7
Singapore	3	1	2	20	98	–78	5
Philippines	3	0	3	24	90	–66	3

Knockout round

Semi-finals		Final

10 November – 13:14 – Guangzhou

Kazakhstan	7
		10 November – 16:30 – Guangzhou
Hong Kong	19
		Hong Kong	0
10 November – 13:36 – Guangzhou
		China	33
China	34

Thailand	0
		Third place

		10 November – 16:04 – Guangzhou

		Kazakhstan	17

		Thailand	14

Europe

Rugby Europe held a tournament on 13–14 July 2019 in Kazan, Russia.^[10] England won the tournament, meaning that Great Britain qualified for the Olympics.

Teams eligible to compete in the tournament included:

The top seven placed Olympic teams in the 2019 Marcoussis Women's Sevens, with England representing Great Britain
The top four placed teams in the 2019 Rugby Europe Women's Sevens Trophy
The 2019 Rugby Europe Women's Sevens Conference winner

Pool A

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
France	3	3	0	125	5	+120	9
Poland	3	2	1	67	46	+21	7
Italy	3	1	2	48	69	–21	5
Moldova	3	0	3	5	125	–120	3

Pool B

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Russia	3	3	0	110	5	+105	9
England	3	2	1	114	26	+88	7
Sweden	3	1	2	29	84	–55	5
Germany	3	0	3	5	143	–138	3

Pool C

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Spain	3	3	0	89	12	+77	9
Ireland	3	2	1	103	19	+84	7
Romania	3	1	2	34	88	–54	5
Czech Republic	3	0	3	12	119	–107	3

Knockout stage

Quarter-finals		Semi-finals		Final

14 July – 10:00 – Central Stadium

France	55
		14 July – 13:59 – Central Stadium
Romania	0
		France	12
14 July – 11:06 – Central Stadium
		England	14
England	17
				14 July – 17:11 – Central Stadium
Ireland	7
				England	19
14 July – 10:22 – Central Stadium
				Russia	0
Russia	44
		14 July – 14:21 – Central Stadium
Italy	0
		Russia	12
14 July – 10:44 – Central Stadium
		Spain	5	Third place
Spain	17
				14 July – 16:46 – Central Stadium
Poland	14
				France	17

				Spain	5

North America

Rugby Americas North held the 2019 RAN Women's Sevens on 6–7 July 2019 at George Town, Cayman Islands. With the United States and Canada both qualifying through the Women's Sevens Series, the first and second placed teams Jamaica and Mexico advanced to the final qualifying tournament.^[11]

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Jamaica	5	5	0	0	164	24	+140	15
Mexico	5	3	1	1	112	49	+63	10
Saint Lucia	5	3	0	2	73	42	+31	9
Trinidad and Tobago	5	2	1	2	88	61	+27	7
Bermuda	5	1	0	4	15	156	–141	3
Bahamas	5	0	0	5	20	140	–120	0

Oceania

Oceania Rugby held the 2019 Oceania Women's Sevens Championship on 7–9 November 2019 at Suva, Fiji.^[12] With Australia and New Zealand already qualified through the Women's Sevens Series, Fiji gained direct qualification to the Olympics while Papua New Guinea and Samoa advanced to the final qualifying tournament.

Pool B

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Fiji	3	3	0	189	0	+189	9
Solomon Islands	3	1	2	41	97	–56	5
Vanuatu	3	1	2	29	85	–56	5
Nauru	3	1	2	27	104	–77	5

Pool C

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Papua New Guinea	3	3	0	88	22	+66	9
Samoa	3	2	1	74	36	+38	7
Cook Islands	3	1	2	56	45	+11	5
Tonga	3	0	3	5	120	–115	3

Knockout stage

Semi-finals		Olympic qualifier

9 November – 12:12 – ANZ Stadium

Fiji	43
		9 November – 18:35 – ANZ Stadium
Samoa	0
		Fiji	36
9 November – 12:34 – ANZ Stadium
		Papua New Guinea	0
Papua New Guinea	31

Solomon Islands	7
		Repechage qualifier

		9 November – 16:58 – ANZ Stadium

		Samoa	45

		Solomon Islands	0

South America

Sudamérica Rugby held a tournament on 1–2 June 2019 in Lima, Peru.^[13] Brazil won direct qualification to the Olympics while the second and third placed teams Colombia and Argentina advanced to the final qualifying tournament.

Pool A

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Brazil	4	4	0	200	17	+183	12
Peru	4	3	1	80	50	+30	10
Paraguay	4	2	2	65	79	–14	8
Venezuela	4	1	3	36	123	–87	6
Guatemala	4	0	4	15	127	–112	4

Pool B

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Colombia	4	3	1	0	164	31	+133	11
Argentina	4	3	1	0	154	24	+130	11
Chile	4	2	0	2	45	64	–19	8
Uruguay	4	1	0	3	25	112	–87	6
Costa Rica	4	0	0	4	0	157	–157	4

Knockout

Semi-finals		Final

2 June 2019 – 12:32 – Andrés Avelino Cáceres Complex

Brazil	36
		2 June 2019 – 15:12 – Andrés Avelino Cáceres Complex
Argentina	14
		Brazil	28
2 June 2019 – 12:54 – Andrés Avelino Cáceres Complex
		Colombia	15
Colombia	19

Peru	5
		Third place

		2 June 2019 – 14:50 – Andrés Avelino Cáceres Complex

		Argentina	22

		Peru	12

Olympic qualification event

A 12-team repechage tournament was scheduled to be held from 20 to 21 June 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A new venue and date for the tournament has yet to be announced. Two runners-up from each of the six continental qualification tournaments will play, with the winner and runner-up advancing to the Olympic tournament.^[14]

Continent	Qualifiers
Africa	Madagascar
Africa	Tunisia^{[note 1]}
Asia	Hong Kong
Asia	Kazakhstan
Europe
	France
	Russia
North America	Jamaica
North America	Mexico
Oceania	Papua New Guinea
Oceania	Samoa
South America	Argentina
South America	Colombia
Total	12

Notes:

^ Kenya originally qualified for the OQE as the second-placed team but instead advanced directly to the Olympics after South Africa declined their place. They were replaced by Tunisia, the fourth-placed team.

References

^ "Joint Statement from the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee". IOC. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
^ "World Rugby and IOC confirm rugby sevens qualification process for Tokyo 2020". insidethegames.biz. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
^ "QUALIFICATION SYSTEM – GAMES OF THE XXXII OLYMPIAD – TOKYO 2020" (PDF). World Rugby. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Kenya qualify for Tokyo 2020 despite Rugby Africa Women's Sevens final defeat". www.insidethegames.biz. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
^ world.rugby. "Olympic repechage | World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
^ "Schedule confirmed for HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2019". World Rugby. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
^ "Sevens Olympic pathway confirmed for 2020". England Rugby. 17 September 2018. Archived from the original on 12 October 2018.
^ "Africa Men and Women's Sevens, the two tournaments serving as qualification events for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad, Tokyo 2020". Rugby Africa. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
^ "Calendar 2019". Asia Rugby. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
^ "Женский отбор на ОИ-2020 по регби-7 пройдет в Казани" (in Russian). ria.ru. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
^ "Cayman Islands and Barbados to play host to 2019 RAN Competitions". Rugby Americas North. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
^ "Rugby sevens regional qualifiers confirmed for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games". Oceania Rugby. 2 April 2019. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
^ "Perú: se Entregó el Campo de Juego de Lima 2019" (in Spanish). Sudamérica Rugby. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
^ "Olympic preparations for sevens teams up in the air". Rugby World. Retrieved 1 August 2020.

[North_America-4] With both the United States and Canada advancing to the tournament through securing top four slots in the 2018–19 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series, the spot for the RAN champion was re-allocated, allowing the final Olympic qualifying tournament to have two teams qualify for the Olympic Games.

[GB-5] Great Britain qualified for the Olympics through England's performance as England were the designated home nation that could earn Olympic qualification for Great Britain. Rugby sevens players from Scotland and Wales, however, were eligible to be selected for the British team at the Olympic Games.

[Africa-7] South Africa won the qualifying tournament but declined their spot due to a policy against accepting spots from continental tournaments. Kenya, as runner-up, qualified instead.^[4]

[Great_Britain-11] By agreement between the three unions on the island of Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales), England represented Great Britain in qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Sevens.^[7] The final make-up of the Great Britain women's team was determined by the British Olympic Association.

[Africa-19] Kenya originally qualified for the OQE as the second-placed team but instead advanced directly to the Olympics after South Africa declined their place. They were replaced by Tunisia, the fourth-placed team.

[1] "Joint Statement from the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee". IOC. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2022.

[2] "World Rugby and IOC confirm rugby sevens qualification process for Tokyo 2020". insidethegames.biz. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.

[3] "QUALIFICATION SYSTEM – GAMES OF THE XXXII OLYMPIAD – TOKYO 2020" (PDF). World Rugby. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.

[South_Africa-6] "Kenya qualify for Tokyo 2020 despite Rugby Africa Women's Sevens final defeat". www.insidethegames.biz. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.

[8] world.rugby. "Olympic repechage | World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 2021-01-23.

[9] "Schedule confirmed for HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2019". World Rugby. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2018.

[10] "Sevens Olympic pathway confirmed for 2020". England Rugby. 17 September 2018. Archived from the original on 12 October 2018.

[12] "Africa Men and Women's Sevens, the two tournaments serving as qualification events for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad, Tokyo 2020". Rugby Africa. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.

[13] "Calendar 2019". Asia Rugby. Retrieved 17 January 2019.

[14] "Женский отбор на ОИ-2020 по регби-7 пройдет в Казани" (in Russian). ria.ru. Retrieved 21 February 2019.

[15] "Cayman Islands and Barbados to play host to 2019 RAN Competitions". Rugby Americas North. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.

[16] "Rugby sevens regional qualifiers confirmed for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games". Oceania Rugby. 2 April 2019. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.

[17] "Perú: se Entregó el Campo de Juego de Lima 2019" (in Spanish). Sudamérica Rugby. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2019.

[18] "Olympic preparations for sevens teams up in the air". Rugby World. Retrieved 1 August 2020.

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