Researchers have previously examined motivational goal setting and anxiety among high-level athletes because they are considered important variables in sport performance. Since Rugby Sevens was included in the 2016 Olympics, research interest in rugby Sevens increased significantly. However, the focus has been mainly on the physical demands of the competition (e.g. Hogarth, et al., 2016). Rugby Sevens as a sport for women in Portugal is novel, womens rugby competition only started to win more consistency at the beginning of the 20th century. The sample was composed of 12 female athletes that represent the Portuguese Women`s Sevens (PWS) squad. The purpose of the current exploratory study was to measure athletes` goal orientations using Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire - TEOSQp (Chi & Duda, 1995) and the anxiety multidimentional subscales cognitive and somatic trait anxiety in sport using Sport Anxiety Scale SAS-2 (Smith, Smoll & Schutz, 1990). The relationships between goal orientation and anxiety variables was analysed by nonparametric correlations using the Spearman`s rho coefficient and numerical variance for normality was analysed using Shapiro-Wilk Test. The results revealed that the athletes were high in task goal orientation (X = 4.40) and low (for H-P) in ego goal orientation (X = 2.88); there was a significant positive correlation between ego goal orientation and quantity of weekly sessions and a positive correlation between worry (anxiety dimension) and the duration of weekly sessions. As expected players` task goal orientation was correlated with low competitive anxiety. These findings are discussed in light of the literature and suggestions are made to contribute guidance from the Head Coach and Technical Director in how these psychological dimensions can influence the development and performance of female Rugby Sevens players.
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