Power ranking every single sport at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics

13. Rugby

We’ll be transparent here, things start to ramp up significantly after this one. The top 12 Olympic sports tend to define the Olympics. Those are the sports we consider “Olympic events” for the most part (with one very specific exception). Then, there’s rugby. Unlike others on this list, we know rugby has a huge following outside of the Olympics, but does anyone in the United States ever really pay attention outside of every four years?

Rugby is an unbelievable sport. It’s famous for how tough the athletes are. The “scrum” is something the normal man or woman should avoid. That’s where the real pain is felt, and it’s away from the referee’s gaze, so we know some are taking certain liberties with the rules. 

But even beyond the toughness and hitting of the sport, rugby is enthralling to watch. It’s played today as rugby sevens, even though rugby union seems to be the more popular version of the sport. In sevens, there are seven participants playing seven-minute halves. That’s pretty straightforward. 

The game is faster and more testing than traditional union, which is more plotting with 15 players on each side. This moves the game along and leads to a more exciting finish. Points are scored for a try (five), for a conversion (two), and for a drop goal or penalty (three). It’s fast-paced and hard-hitting, which is basically most people’s ideal aspects of their own favorite sports.