Rugby sevens has vied to be an Olympic sport for a long time. It was finally introduced at Rio 2016 and hasn't disappointed one bit.Before the men's event gets underway on Tuesday, the women set a ferocious tone for what we should expect. The tackles have been flying in; the tries being scored; the breath being taken.Put simply, it was a wonderful spectacle which Australia eventually won, defeating old foe New Zealand in the final. Now the men have to live up to the high standards their women counterparts have set.For Team GB, their Rio 2016 adventure ended in heartbreak, as they fell to Canada in the bronze medal match. Despite having the technical skills and looking far more superior in that department than their opponents, GB struggled to live with the intensity the Canadians brought to the game.It was brutal at times. The breakdown was physical, and the Canadians were not shy about how they were going to claim their medal. They bullied their way to the podium, winning by an emphatic 33-10 scoreline. It was a game of brute force.That game showed us what rugby sevens is all about. It's the full picture; a sport that takes no prisoners. It's seven versus seven on a big, open expanse that is made for teams of XV. Reducing the numbers doesn't reduce the action, however. If anything, it adds to it.There's no place to escape. Backs are forced into more contact than they would like, and forwards are sometimes trying to be wingers. It's a game that requires a specific skill set, with bravery being a prerequisite.And that's where the British women can hold their heads high when they look back on what they have achieved in Rio. Coming so close to a medal will disappoint them, but the way they have gone about their business has been exemplary.From the first pass to the last, they were courageous and didn't skip a tackle no matter who they faced.From thrashing hosts Brazil 29-3 in their opening pool game, Team GB also racked up wins against Japan (40-0) and Canada (22-0) in the pool stage. They then went on to defeat Fiji 26-7 in the quarter-final before losing 25-7 to a fearsome New Zealand.It proved one challenge too many to do it all again against a physically imposing Canada team, and in the end GB's heavy legs got the better of them. Still, they dug deep and were never shy about the challenge in front of them; they met it full on.That's what Olympic sport is all about. We see athletes from small countries show up and take it to their bigger rivals. Whether it's in athletics, fencing or swimming, the competition is what drives it all and the athletes thrive on it.That's the spirit that makes the Olympics Games such a spectacle, and rugby sevens has it in abundance.Rio 2016 may only be the first time we've seen sevens on this stage, but for all those reasons and more, the sport sits comfortably alongside those more traditionally associated with the Games. After what we've seen in these opening three days, it's a wonder why we've had to wait so long to get this far.Fans who have only taken to sevens during the Olympics have been introduced to a sport that is all about intensity. Play never stops, which means players are up and at 'em for the duration, taking more contact in a game of sevens as we would expect in the same period of XVs (sevens matches consist of two seven-minute halfs, 10 minutes for the medal matches).Despite the big hits and sprints players are forced into making throughout a game, still the match-ups come thick and fast. It's two per day, with no time to rest. That alone pushes the players to the edge physically and mentally.Indeed, it's hard to think of another sport that does that at the Olympics. They all come with their individual challenges, but scheduling alone has shown sevens to be a stand-out event. The players are put through the ringer, so to end up without a medal to show for it only adds to the pain.When Team GB players exited after defeat to Canada, the tears they cried were for a collection of painful emotions; it was the heartbreak of losing coupled with the vulnerability every sportsman or woman feels when they have put their bodies on the line and driven them to the very edge.Through the microphones on television, we could hear every impact. The thud gave a heavy baseline that would have made even the toughest of viewers wince. And out there, Team GB were doing it. They were getting up after heavy hit and going back for more.It was incredible; it is incredible. And the best bit about it all' We have another three days of rugby sevens to enjoy now that the men's competition starts.Sit back and enjoy as it's going to be one hell of a ride.
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