Alright, let’s talk about this men’s rugby bracket for the Olympics I put together. It started pretty simply, actually. The Olympics were getting closer, and I’m a big rugby fan, especially sevens. Fast paced, lots of action.
So, I thought, why not make a bracket? Something fun to follow along with, maybe share with a few buddies so we could see who guessed best. Nothing too serious, just a bit of fun.
Getting Started
First thing I did was pull up the list of teams. Had to check who actually qualified for the men’s tournament. Found the list, I think there were twelve teams in total.
- Got the official list.
- Jotted them down on a notepad.
Then, I needed the pools. Rugby sevens usually starts with pool play. Found the official draw – they split the twelve teams into three pools of four. Wrote down which teams were in Pool A, Pool B, and Pool C next to my team list. This part was easy enough, just copying down the info.
Building the Bracket
Okay, now the tricky bit: making the actual bracket structure. I knew it wasn’t just a simple knockout from the start. You have the pool stage, then it moves to quarterfinals, semis, and the final. Plus, placement matches usually.
I grabbed a piece of paper and started sketching.
Pool Stage: Drew three boxes for the pools, listed the teams in each. Left space to rank them 1 to 4 later.
Knockout Stage: This needed some thought. How do they decide the quarterfinals? Usually, it’s the top two from each pool, plus the two best third-placed teams. So, eight teams move on. I had to figure out the matchups. I looked up the standard Olympic progression format – something like Winner Pool A plays one of the best 3rd place teams, Winner Pool B plays the other best 3rd place team, Winner Pool C plays Runner-Up Pool A, and so on. It gets a bit complex, but I mapped out the eight QF slots and drew lines connecting them based on the likely progression.
Then I drew the lines forward:
- Quarterfinal winners moving to two Semifinals.
- Semifinal winners moving to the Gold Medal match.
- Semifinal losers moving to the Bronze Medal match.
I decided to keep it simple and focus just on the main medal path. Didn’t bother mapping out all the 5th-8th place stuff, too messy for my simple bracket.
Making it Look Okay
My hand-drawn sketch was functional but messy. I wanted something cleaner. I just opened up a basic document on my computer, used some simple shapes and lines to recreate the structure. Typed in the pool teams. Left blank lines for people to write in the winners of each match as the tournament happened.
Made sure it all fit on one page. Looked pretty decent, clean enough to understand.
Using the Thing
Once I had the file, I printed a few copies. Filled one out myself with my predictions – always fun to see how wrong I am later! Sent the file to a couple of mates who follow the rugby too.
Then it was just a matter of watching the games when the Olympics started. As each match finished, I’d grab my bracket and fill in the winner, advancing them to the next round. It definitely made watching the tournament more engaging, even the games between teams I don’t normally root for.
My predictions? Let’s just say some were okay, others were way off. But that’s the fun of it, right? Seeing the upsets and the unexpected results unfold. It was a good way to track everything and added a nice little layer to enjoying the Olympic rugby.
