Wales and England welcome rugby's inclusion in Olympics

LONDON (Reuters) - World champions Wales and England have welcomed Friday's decision to include rugby sevens in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) added rugby sevens and golf after a vote of members in Copenhagen. Rugby was last played at the Olympics in Paris in 1924.

"This is an important day in Welsh rugby history and certainly delivers a major boost to our Rugby Sevens ambitions," said Joe Lydon, Welsh Rugby Union's (WRU) head of performance and development.

"The exposure rugby sevens will get from inclusion in the Olympics will draw many new people into the sport and that has clear benefits for the whole of Welsh rugby."

Wales won the men's title at this year's rugby sevens world championship in Dubai in March, beating Argentina in the final while Australia took the women's crown.

Welsh players will compete with those from England and Scotland for a slot in the British team for 2016.

England's Ollie Phillips, who was voted the IRB's Sevens Player of the Year, said the abbreviated form of rugby would provide a fantastic spectacle at the Olympics.

"It's fabulous news and I was doing cartwheels round my flat," he said in an RFU statement.

"As someone who has been involved in Sevens for a number of years and seen how the World Sevens Series has grown, for it now to be an Olympic sport is amazing. It's the pinnacle of sport."

Rob Andrew, the RFU's Elite Rugby Director, said: "Sevens will be an invaluable addition to the Olympics.

"As proved in the Commonwealth Games, the IRB Sevens World Series and through its own Rugby World Cup, it is a thrilling spectacle that captivates the fans," he added.

Rugby sevens received 81 votes in favour of inclusion at the Olympics with just eight votes against.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)