[1][2][3] Great Britain won silver and South Africa defeated Japan to win the bronze medal.

As a result of England finishing fourth in the 2014–15 Sevens World Series, Great Britain were awarded a spot in the Olympic Games, despite the other nations failing to qualify in the top 4.

It was decided players based in Northern Ireland were not eligible to represent Great Britain in the rugby sevens tournament as these players represent the IRFU, and the union demanded that Northern Irish players that have committed to play for the Irish rugby union, only play for Ireland despite being eligible under IOC rules to compete for Great Britain.

The 12 teams were seeded based on their points they have accumulated over the past two seasons on the Sevens Series circuit.

The four teams that qualified directly from the 2014–15 Sevens World Series were guaranteed a top four seeding, with their positioning determined by their combined score over the two seasons.