Rugby at the 1900 Summer Olympics

Rugby union football was contested at the 1900 International Exposition and is usually considered an Olympic event. There was a round-robin tournament scheduled for mid-to-late October between France, Germany, and Great Britain. However, only 2 of the 3 games were held, because the British and German teams were not able to stay in Paris for the entire 15 days that would have been required for them to play both matches.

The two matches were contested on the infield of the Vélodrome Municipal de Vincennes, which was much later renamed the Vélodrome Jacques Anquetil – La Cipale. This velodrome hosted multiple sports at the 1900 Olympics, including cycling, cricket, football, gymnastics, and rugby. As of 2014 it still exists, although it has been re-built, and still hosts events in cycling, football, and rugby.

Although this was the first Olympic rugby event, it would be contested again at the 1908, 1920, and 1924 Olympics, and a variant of the sport, rugby sevens, is scheduled to be held at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.