Rugby seems set to return to the Olympic Games in 2016.  The International Olympic Committee’s executive board voted to include rugby sevens and golf at its Berlin executive board meeting yesterday.

The 15 member board selected the proposed sports for 2016 by secret ballot over several rounds. Seven sports in all were bidding for inclusion. At the end of each round of voting the sports receiving the fewest votes was eliminated. Rugby was the clear winner, getting seven votes in the first round and a majority of nine in the second.

The recommendation still needs to be ratified by a full meeting of the International Olympic Committee congress in Copenhagen on October 9^th.

Rugby which was played at four different Olympic Games between 1900 and 1924 in the full 15 a-side format has proposed the seven a-side game be included for both men and women. The International Rugby Board will scrap its Sevens Rugby World Cup to guarantee that the Olympics is the sport’s top event. Rugby sevens has been included in the Commonwealth Games programme since 1998 and will next feature at the 2010 Delhi Games.

Mr Trevor Gregory, Chairman of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union, commented on today’s announcement saying. “It is a significant day for rugby. The Hong Kong Rugby Football Union and the Asian rugby community eagerly anticipate the benefits that inclusion into the Olympics can bring to the sport including medal opportunities, particularly for smaller countries and a showcase for rugby on the world’s largest sporting stage. Worldwide, Olympic status would also bring increased governmental funding and support for rugby and further development in both the men’s and women’s game. Excited as we are however, we are aware that this is only a single step.  We are not getting ahead of ourselves and are cognisant that the IOC still has to vote on the recommendation.  But it is very gratifying to see that the executive board has recognized the merits of rugby sevens as a potential Olympic sport. In Hong Kong and around Asia governments will increase their support for rugby if we can secure a place in the line up of Olympic sports.  Alongside the IRB’s recent decision to bring the Rugby World Cup to Asia for the first time ever in Japan in 2019, the game is truly on the upswing in the region and throughout the world. Along with the rest of the global rugby community we are now eagerly awaiting the IOC Congress in Copenhagen on October 9, 2009.”

Bernard Lapasset, President of the IRB, said: “We would like to thank the IOC Executive Board for selecting rugby sevens from what are seven strong and diverse sports. The Olympic Games would be the pinnacle of the sport for all our athletes and the rugby family, providing the opportunity for the best men’s and women’s players in the world to showcase their talent on the world’s greatest sporting stage. The international rugby community is united behind rugby sevens’ campaign and we now look ahead to October.”