Discontinued Olympic Sports

Events > Olympics > Discontinued > Sports > Rugby Union

Rugby Union

Rugby was played at the Olympics in the years 1900, 1908, 1920 and 1924, and after a long wait it was voted in 2009 back onto the Olympic program for the 2016 Games.

At the 1900 Paris Games, Rugby drew the largest single crowd for any sport, in a match between England and France, won by France 27-8. It was attended by 6,000 spectators, with 4,389 paying for their entry. It certainly was not one of the most popular sports in terms of teams participating, with only two teams competed in 1908 and 1920.

Notable Performances

• A member of the 1920 USA team, Morris Kirksey, also won a silver in the 100m, and gold in the 4x100m relay.

• A member of the Australian team in 1908, Australian Daniel Carroll, won gold, then repeated this feat competing for USA in 1920 (only weightlifter Akakide Kakhiashvili has also won gold competing for two different nations).

Results

1900

1. France
2. Germany
3. Great Britain

Scores: France 27-17 Germany, France 27-8 Great Britain

1908: There was only one match, Australia / New Zealand defeated Great Britain 32-3

1920: There was only one match, United States beat France 8-0

1924

1. United States
2. France
3. Romania

Related Pages

• POLL: Should Rugby be a sport at the Olympics?
• more Discontinued Events
• about Rugby at the Summer Olympics