Rugby sevens at the Commonwealth Games

Rugby sevens has been played at every Commonwealth Games since its first appearance at the 1998 edition held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Rugby sevens was an optional sport that was included for 2002 and 2006; it was then made a 'Core' sport by the Commonwealth Games Federation, necessitating its appearance at all future games from the 2010 Games onward. New Zealand dominated the men's tournament at its inception until 2014 when they lost for the first time at the Games, playing South Africa in the gold medal match. 2022 marked the first time that New Zealand failed to reach the gold medal match in either the men's or women's tournaments.

Until the 2014 Games, rugby sevens was a male-only sport at the Commonwealth Games, but a female tournament was added to the programme for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.[1]

Editions

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Men's

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Games Year Host city Host country Medallists
Gold Silver Bronze
XVI 1998 Kuala Lumpur  Malaysia  New Zealand  Fiji  Australia
XVII 2002 Manchester  England  New Zealand  Fiji  South Africa
XVIII 2006 Melbourne  Australia  New Zealand  England  Fiji
XIX 2010 Delhi  India  New Zealand  Australia  South Africa
XX 2014 Glasgow  Scotland  South Africa  New Zealand  Australia
XXI 2018 Gold Coast  Australia  New Zealand  Fiji  England
XXII 2022 Birmingham  England  South Africa  Fiji  New Zealand

Women's

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Games Year Host city Host country Medallists
Gold Silver Bronze
XXI 2018 Gold Coast  Australia  New Zealand  Australia  England
XXII 2022 Birmingham  England  Australia  Fiji  New Zealand

All-time medal table

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Medals table for rugby sevens at the Commonwealth Games (first competed for in 1998).

Updated after the 2022 Commonwealth Games

Participating nations

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Men

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Nation 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Years
 Australia 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6th 4th 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5th 4th 7
 Bahamas 17th 1
 Barbados 15th 1
 Canada 6th 7th 7th 10th 9th 9th 7th 7
 Cayman Islands 18th 1
 Cook Islands 9th 11th 13th 10th 4
 England 7th 5th 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 4th 5th 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 9th 7
 Eswatini 15th 1
 Fiji 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5
 Guyana 13th 1
 Jamaica 13th 13th 2
 India 13th 1
 Kenya 13th 11th 9th 7th 7th 8th 7th 7
 Malaysia 11th 13th 13th 15th 13th 15th 6
 Namibia 13th 1
 New Zealand 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7
 Niue 13th 13th 2
 Papua New Guinea 10th 9th 11th 9th 4
 Samoa 4th 4th 7th 5th 4th 9th 5th 7
 Scotland 9th 11th 6th 7th 6th 6th 6
 South Africa 5th 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6th 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4th 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7
 Sri Lanka 14th 13th 13th 13th 13th 13th 14th 7
 Tonga 12th 10th 10th 11th 11th 5
 Trinidad and Tobago 16th 13th 14th 3
 Uganda 11th 11th 11th 9th 10th 5
 Wales 4th 7th 5th 7th 6th 7th 11th 6
 Zambia =13th 15th 2

Women

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Nation 2018 2022 Years
 Australia 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2
 Canada 4th 4th 2
 England 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5th 2
 Fiji 5th 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 2
 Kenya 6th 1
 New Zealand 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 2
 Scotland 6th 1
 South Africa 8th 7th 2
 Sri Lanka 8th 1
 Wales 7th 1

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Osborne, Paul (7 October 2014). "Women's rugby sevens confirmed for Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games". Insidethegames.biz. Dunsar Media. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.