Last week in Berlin, Rugby took a giant step towards achieving its goal of being adopted as an Olympic sport for 2016 when the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Executive Board recommended Sevens and golf for a vote by the IOC members on 9 October in Copenhagen.
IRB Chief Executive Mike Miller was in Berlin for the drama of the announcement and spoke with the IRB's Total Rugby Radio programme in the direct aftermath.
"I don't think my heart has beat as quickly for a long time as during the few minutes that Jacques Rogge was saying his preamble," admitted Miller.
"It was fairly tense, people really didn't know what was going on, and people assumed that I knew what was going on, which I didn't."
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When the IOC members meet they will vote in alphabetical order, first on golf and then on Rugby Sevens, with the voting kept secret between rounds and, above all, Miller is adamant that the job is not yet done and that more work is needed for Rugby.
Fifty percent plus one of the members still have to vote 'yes' for rugby to gain inclusion in the programme, meaning that there could be no new sports adopted, just golf, just rugby or both.
A truly global sport
"This isn't the end, this is like the semi final and we're through to the final," said Miller.
"We need to make sure that the successful argument that we put forward to the Executive Board gets to the IOC members. Obviously it has done over the years, but we need to reinforce those messages and make sure that we can get that 50 percent plus one of the vote.
"In the short term it means yet more work to try and ensure that Rugby gets into the Olympic Games.
As Chief Executive of the sport's world governing body, and Managing Director of Rugby World Cup Limited, Miller knows just what a difference Olympic inclusion would make for the Game.
"I've had so many people around the world over the last six years or so, while I've been on this campaign trail, who've said 'Please, please try and get us into the Olympics, because it will make a huge difference to rugby in my country', and that's from big countries like Russia, USA and India and smaller countries like Thailand and Uruguay.
"I'm just pleased for everyone in Rugby, because if we do get in it will really speed up the growth of our Game and the ability to turn us into a truly global sport.
No complacency
"We have 116 Member Unions now, soon to be 117, but there are over 200 nations in the Olympics - we want Rugby to be played everywhere."
The sport's current position stands in stark contrast to 2005 in Singapore, when Sevens did not make it past the first round of voting, and eventually no sports were adopted for the 2012 Games. Those memories also mean that Rugby will not suffer from any complacency in its continued lobbying.
"For me, Singapore four years ago when we didn't get in was a very sad moment, a very down moment. Life has this way of giving you the ups and the downs, it's nice to have an up like this but also I feel sorry for the sports that weren't recommended.
"We know them well, their sports are good sports and frankly everyone deserves their opportunity, I think, to be at the Olympic Games, but you can't have everyone in. As far as I'm concerned, better Rugby than anyone else.
"But still there's work to do, it's not done yet, we musn't be complacent.
"My message to everyone is please go out, if you know your IOC member or someone from your National Olympic Committee or someone who works in sport in your government, whoever it is, please go out and make the case for Rugby Sevens being in the Olympics."
