Dakar Youth Olympic Games 2026 Rugby 7s

The Dakar Youth Olympic Games 2026 Rugby 7s take place from 1-3 November – these are the fourth Youth Olympic Games and the third time rugby sevens has been included. Both the China Girls and Japanese Boys will represent Asia.

The rugby tournament kicks off at the 8,000-seat Complexe Iba Mar Diop and World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson said: “Dakar 2026 is important to World Rugby for two exciting reasons. Firstly, we love the Youth Olympic Games, which is an important platform for future stars in a sporting and personal development context.

Secondly, Africa is a region on the rise, with a rapidly growing participation and fanbase. We are excited about the platform Dakar will provide for the reach and resonance of rugby in Africa.”

Rugby sevens made its Youth Olympic Games debut at Nanjing 2014 before taking place in Buenos Aires 2018. where the Argentina claimed the men’s gold medal, defeating France in the final, while New Zealand won the women’s title, also defeating France to gold. Japan and Canada won bronze in the men’s and women’s competitions respectively.

A Legacy of Medallists

There is a long list of players who have competed at the Youth Olympics who went on to senior success. Some of the genuine rugby stars who have previously participated at the Youth Olympic Games are:

Australia’s women won gold in Nanjing in 2014 (a team that included Dominique du Toit and Tiana Penitani), New Zealand’s Risi Pouri-Lane and Mahina Paul were gold medal winners at the Youth Olympic Games in 2018), while Canadians at the Youth Games were silver-medallist Charity Williams in 2014, and bronze winner in 2018 Keyara Wardley (both Olympic silver medalists at Paris 2024).

Previous World Rugby Men’s Sevens Player of the Year Marcos Moneta won gold with Argentina at the 2018 Games – a team which also featured Lucio Cinti and Ignacio Mendy, who both played in the 2026 Nations Championship.

Sacha Valleau claimed boys’ gold with France in rugby sevens’ 2014 Youth Olympic Games debut in China, and he went on to play at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

In Argentina in 2018, France Boys won silver with a team that included Joachim Trouabal, who scored twice in the gold medal match and has since represented the country’s senior sevens squad, as well as Yoram Moefana, now a regular with France’s senior men’s 15s squad.

Kippei Ishida was part of the Japan squad that claimed bronze in 2018; he captained his country at Paris 2024 and is now part of the Brave Blossoms XV team.

Competing Rugby 7s Teams – Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games

Girls Teams & Pools

Pool A

• Australia
• China
• Kenya
• Senegal

Pool B

• Czechia
• Madagascar
• Spain
• USA

Boys Teams & Pools

Pool A

• Canada
• Germany
• Senegal
• South Africa

Pool B

• Argentina
• France
• Japan
• Samoa

Asian Rugby Tournaments 2026

• 2026 WXV Global Series.
• Asian Games 2026 Rugby 7s Pools & Teams
• Asia Rugby 7s 2026 National Team Tournament Dates & Venues Guide.
• Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup 2026.