"3 Time Olympian & Red Roses Stars" - 5 Team GB Rugby Sevens Players to Watch in the 2024 Olympic Games

Great Britain's quest for gold gets started this Sunday, as the women's competition kicks off a few days later than the men's, who have their first pool stage matches from Wednesday. Team GB have been drawn into Pool B for the tournament, and will be taking Ireland, Australia (both Sunday 28th) and South Africa (Monday 29th) in the group stage rounds.

Team GB head coach Ciaran Beattie confirmed his squad on June 19th, with the former Scotland Sevens and Loughborough University coach pencilling in 10 Olympic debutants within the touring squad of 14 players. Here is a look at five players to watch from the Great Britain women's rugby sevens squad, as they commence their mission for Olympic gold this Sunday.

Kicking off our short-list of five players to watch, is the only member of the Team GB squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics, that was selected for both the 2016 Rio and 2021 Tokyo Games. Wales international Jasmine Joyce has experienced the bright lights of the Olympic stage twice before, yet was a fingertip away from taking home a medal at both previous tournaments.

Great Britain lost the Bronze Finals in both 2016 and 2021, with the third-placed victors being Canada and Fiji. Two fourth-placed finishes has only spurred Joyce on further to bring home a medal from Paris, as she caps of the accomplishment of becoming the first British rugby player to play at a trio of Olympic Games.

Prior to the selection, Joyce said of a potential third bid for an Olympic medal: “It’s so exciting to join up with the talented GB Sevens squad ahead of this summer’s Olympic Games. This side has a genuine shot of becoming the first female Great Britain rugby Sevens team to win an Olympic medal and I would love to be part of that.”

The first of two current Red Roses that have joined up with Team GB for the Olympics, Meg Jones is a well known name amongst both the Great Britain Sevens and England Rugby set-ups. Also representing her PWR club Leicester Tigers, the Welsh-born dynamo optimises what it takes to become a household name in both rugby union and rugby sevens, as Jones has had a stellar career for both Team GB and England.

Despite being born and raised in the Welsh capital of Cardiff, Jones began her Test match career with England against New Zealand back in 2015. The centre has expressed in the past how her Welsh family have conflicted interests in watching the Red Roses take on Wales, yet the Jones household will now firmly be behind Team GB, as they follow their Olympic dream in the coming weeks.

With pace to burn and an unpredictable first step, Jones was promptly selected to travel to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics, before the midfielder returned to England duties for the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup. Jones was more recently apart of the Team GB squad that won gold medals from the 2023 European Games in Poland, before swapping back to the Red Roses once again, as England claimed the 2023 & 2024 Women’s Six Nations Grand Slams, as well as 2023 WXV1 title in New Zealand.

3. Ellie Kildunne

One of the 10 incoming Olympic debutants set to light up the pitch in Paris, Harlequins and England wing Ellie Kildunne is embarking on her own return to the world of sevens. Kildunne is best known for her touchline-scorching tries for the Red Roses, with her prior sevens experiences showcased as she hits her top speeds. Kildunne played for England Sevens from 2018 to 2020, and helped the squad qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

However, the impact of the Covid Pandemic enforced the Japan-hosted Olympics to be rescheduled a year later. By the time the delayed Games rolled around in 2021, Kildunne was out of the sevens sphere, with her focus firmly on England's preparations for the 2021 Rugby World Cup campaign, which itself had been delayed until 2022. Kildunne came away from the New Zealand based World Cup with silver medals, as the Red Roses lost in dramatic fashion to the Black Ferns in the final.

Kildunne has recently established herself as one of the best-known Red Roses, with a charismatic personality and artistic expression. A passionate photographer, Kildunne has been providing England fans with photo-worthy finishes, as the Harlequin ended the 2024 Guinness Women's Six Nations campaign as the tournament's top try scorer (nine tries). Kildunne joined Meg Jones in the 2023 & 2024 Women's Six Nations winning tournaments, as well as the inaugural WXV1 title triumph last Autumn.

Whilst Meg Jones and Ellie Kildunne are representing the current Red Roses out in Paris, Amy Wilson-Hardy is another member of the Great Britain Sevens squad that has also made Test match caps for England. The former Bristol and Wasps back made her debut for England back in 2013 and went on to make 10 appearances for the Red Roses.

Sevens was always the prominent calling for Wilson-Hardy, as the Dorset native would make the swap to the seven-a-side sport ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Suitable to be a ball playing midfielder or an out right pace-infused wing, Wilson-Hardy got the nod for the plane to Brazil, and was apart of the wider squad which supported Team GB's fourth placed finish.

Wilson-Hardy was unable to make her Olympic debut back in South America, and she is eagerly anticipating the opportunity to become an on-field Olympian this Sunday in Paris. Following her return from Brazil, Wilson-Hardy returned to rugby union 15s and was promptly recalled to the England squad for the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup in Ireland.

England were defeated by the Black Ferns in that tournament's final, in what was the fourth of five English defeats to New Zealand in the Women's Rugby World Cup Final (2002, 2006, 2010, 2017 and 2022). Wilson-Hardy has been apart of England Sevens' recent medal accomplishments, as the side won bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, as well as defeating Spain to win Gold for GB at the 2023 European Games.

Bringing the fight from North of the border, Scotland's own Lisa Thomson is also getting ready to make her Olympic debut. Born and raised in the Border town of Melrose, Thomson's talents were recognised at age-grade level, as she established herself throughout the East of Scotland U18s, before progressing into the nationwide Scotland U20s set-up. The senior debut came shortly after, as Thomson achieved her first cap for Scotland against England, in the 2016 Women's Six Nations.

Thomson would then go on to sign her first professional contract with the SRU in 2017, whilst she plied her trade with French club Lille Metropole Rugby Club Villeneuvois (LMRCV). The centre would be promptly recalled to her homeland, as she headed to Edinburgh University to finish her studies. The midfielder would combine her academic pursuits alongside her playing career, as she was signed by DMP Sharks in the former Allianz Premier 15s competition.

Thomson was later apart of some historic victories for Scotland, as the side went out on tour for the first time. The centre took on South Africa in the Summer of 2017, as Scotland achieved two wins in the land of the Springboks. The playmaker was named vice-captain of the Scotland squad in 2021, and has maintained the role in support of her skipper Rachel Malcolm. Thomson's first experience of rugby sevens on the international stage was upon the 2019 HSBC SVNS circuit, and would later also be apart of the Team GB squad that took home gold medals from the 2023 European Games.