RUGBY FOR RIO IN 2016 - BUT FIRST STOP THE GOLD COAST AS 7S PARTY GETS STARTED

October 10: The Gold Coast will host the first major international Rugby 7's tournament after today's historic announcement that 7's had been admitted into the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.

The Gold Coast International 7's will feature 16 teams from overseas and around Australia at Albert Park, Surfers Paradise on November 7 and 8 and will include Australia's leading 24 players in 7's rugby, led by dual rugby and rugby league international and Australian 7's coach Michael O'Connor.

O'Connor and the Australian squad are currently at the AIS in Canberra at an official ARU Selection Camp for the up-coming IRB 7s World Series.

"It is very exciting indeed, there were high fives at breakfast this morning when he woke up to the news that rugby was once again an Olympic sport," said O'Connor.

"There was a real buzz around the place and you could tell with the boys that they had that extra spring in their step - to have rugby back on the Olympic schedule and in Rio is just wonderful for the code.

"To be an Olympic sport will do so much for rugby at a grass roots level and ensure the pathway to the top of the sport is secured."

The Australian Squad will play a series of games today (Saturday) and tomorrow as O'Connor and his selectors narrow down the squad for the up-coming World Series and the teams to be finalised for the Gold Coast International 7's

One of O'Connor's assistant coaches is Gold Coast-based English international Ben Gollings - international 7's greatest pointscorer,  has been one of the game's great ambassadors.

Gollings is the only player still playing on the Sevens World Series who competed in the first season 10 years ago.

Of all the players who have experienced at first hand the IRB Sevens World Series, only one has stayed the course over its 10-year lifespan.

Englishman Gollings started his international Sevens career in 1999 and has passed the phenomenal milestone of 2,000 Series points, ending 2008 on 2,042.

Five years ago in Los Angeles, Gollings surpassed the great Fijian Waisale Serevi as the sport's leading all time point-scorer and since then he has set about stretching that record. Serevi's tally of 1,310 remains the second best in the game.

"Sevens has played a massive part in my life," says Gollings. "I love representing my country and I love playing Sevens and to be able to tour the world like I've done over those 10 years has been huge. I might never have got to do that if I was doing something different," says Gollings of the sport he loves.

"The game's come on leaps and bounds too and keeps throwing up new challenges, which is why I stick around to keep playing. To have 7's as an Olympic sport is a dream come true for players like me who have devoted a lifetime to the sport.

"The challenge for me now is try and stick around for the next seven years until 2016...we'll have to wait and see...but to have 7's in the Olympics is a massive step forward for the game.

"It will mean rugby will start to be played in schools all round the world and that will mean so many more youngsters will be exposed to this great game."

Australian team manager and Gold Coast International 7's tournament director Lucca Liussi is excited that the Gold Coast will get the chance to showcase the 7's game so soon after the Olympic announcement.

"This will be the first international tournament to be staged after today's announcement and it will give people an opportunity to come out and see what 7's rugby is all about," said Liussi.

"It will give rugby followers and families a chance to see just how exciting our game is and to have Australia's best players and players from Fiji, Samoa and New Zealand on show will add to the colour and exposure of the tournament.

"By next month Australia will have finalised it's team for the opening World Series games in Dubai and to have some of the best players here is sure to bring out the best in the Australian boys."