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The top rugby playing nations expect their best players to make themselves available for the 2016 Olympics if sevens is included in the program.

Rugby and golf have been shortlisted by the IOC for inclusion on the 2016 Games but the final decision will not be made until the governing body's October session in Copenhagen.

Rugby failed in its attempt to be added to the program for the 2012 London Olympics but England rugby boss Rob Andrew (pictured) urged the IOC to include them this time.

"We realise that this is just the first step and the final decision rests with the IOC Committee," Andrew said.

"We hope they will see that rugby would be good for the Olympics and the Olympics would be good for rugby."

If rugby was included for 2016, England's players would have to join forces with Wales and Scotland in a Great Britain side.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were opposed to competing for Britain in football at the 2012 Olympics but Lee Beach, captain of the Wales side that won this year's Sevens World Cup in Dubai, said there would no such problems with rugby.

"I have represented Wales in sevens at the Commonwealth Games and now the Rugby World Cup but to represent Great Britain at the Olympics would be the stuff of dreams," Beach said.

"Playing for the British and Irish Lions is the top of the ladder for the 15-a-side game and the Olympics would be the pinnacle of the sevens game."

The sport's biggest names have traditionally focussed their attention on the 15-a-side game but officials believe the lure of competing at the Olympics could change all that.

"The Olympic Games is the largest sporting stage in the world," Australian rugby chief executive John O'Neill said.

"Our players have already indicated they would treasure the opportunity to contend for an Olympic gold medal."

New Zealand have been the dominant force in international sevens for the past decade, not even having to rely on their All Blacks, but chief executive Steve Tew said the Olympics could trigger a re-think of their whole approach.

"A lot of guys will absolutely cherish the opportunity to play at an Olympic event," Tew said.

"The amount of energy and effort that will go into our competitors' preparation for their sevens program is likely to increase considerably.

"We're already finding it a bit harder than we used to, so we'll have to take some stock in terms of our own preparation."

The IRB have asked to run a competition for 12 men's and 12 women's teams and promised to scrap their World Cup, held every four years, to make the Olympics the highlight of their calendar.

"The Olympics would be the pinnacle of the sport for all our athletes and the rugby family, providing the opportunity for the best men's and women's players in the world to showcase their talent on the world's greatest sporting stage," IRB president Bernard Lapasset said.

Reuters