Fiji is favorite to claim gold in the men's rugby sevens tournament, having overcome financial problems and the loss of leading players to win back‑to‑back world titles.
Brett Gosper, the head of World Rugby has told CNN that this would be the fairytale result ‑ a story that transcends the sport.
But the American TV station says not everything is rosy with rugby in the Pacific Islands.
Neither Samoa, a one‑time powerhouse of the sevens format, nor Tonga have qualified teams for Rio.
And the three rugby‑proud nations are losing top talent to an increasing number of tier‑one teams ‑ an age‑old problem ‑ with many stories of players then being blocked from playing for their countries by their club employers.
The body representing the players has heard stories of players being left stranded without visas in their new countries, or else left with sizable tax bills, unaware of the contracts they had signed.
World Rugby rules stipulate the players at clubs across the globe must be released to play for their countries in the international window, but former Samoan rugby international, Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu says he knows of a litany of instances where players have effectively been blocked from doing that by their clubs.
Pacific Island teams also suffer when players from countries such as Samoa or Fiji acquire dual citizenship and represent their adopted nations ‑ meaning they are no longer eligible for their homeland.
Sapolu says these rules are contrary to simple UN human rights.
According to the CNN, World Rugby invested $70 million into the three unions in the four years leading up to the 2015 World Cup and held its first committee meeting in Fiji this year. In addition, the ruling body is looking at introducing a Fijian team in Australia's National Rugby Championship.
While CEO Gosper admits there are "challenges," he is confident World Rugby is moving in the right direction in the region.
Akapusi Qera has twice turned down the opportunity to represent his country for the good of his club career ‑ the second time was at the expense of the Fijian captaincy.
Qera's other gripe is that Pacific Island players get treated differently by clubs.
He says when England or France players come back from their tests, they get days off but the island boys always go straight back in. Qera says there's never any time off. He says that's just bad for player welfare.
He says as professional rugby players, they deserve to be treated the same.
International Rugby Players' Association representative, Josh Blackie says there are horror stories but they are working hard and taking a positive approach from the start rather than dealing with the train wreck at the end.
