Ireland Men found their second appearance, this season, in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series much tougher than their outing at the London 7s last weekend.
With some of the more experienced players rested for this tournament Ireland recorded one win and two losses in their pool games which saw them drop out of the Cup Competition to face Scotland in the quarter finals of the Challenge Trophy. (KO 9:00 am UK/IRE)
Ireland were up against 9th ranked Argentina, 5th ranked England and the number one contenders, Fuji in Pool A and they opened their account with a 7- 22 loss to Argentina in the opening round.
They recorded a 27 – 14 win against England in the next round of matches. However, despite being ranked 5th in the tournament to date, England were largely fielding a development side with seven debutants in their squad compared to Ireland’s two.
Any thought’s of Cup qualification were quickly dashed in the third pool game as Fiji recorded a 40 – 5 win consigning Ireland to the Challenge Trophy.
Irelands results and scorers can be viewed below.
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[accordion title=”Pool A: Ireland 7 Argentina 22″ load=”hide”]
Peter Sullivan scored a late try and Billy Dardis converted to give Ireland a 7 – 5 lead in a tight first half.
However, Argentina pulled away in the second half with three unanswered tries to record a 7 – 22 win.
Ireland Scorers.
TRY: Peter Sullivan
CON: Billy Dardis[/accordion]
[accordion title=”Pool A: Ireland 27 England 14″ load=”hide”]
Early tries from Kelly, Lennox and Maher put Ireland in command in this game.
England responded with a try either side of half time to pull the score back to 17 – 14, but a late brace form Ireland’s McGrath took them clar for their 27 – 14 win.
Ireland Scorers.
TRY: Jack Kelly, Hugo Lennox, Peter Maher, Mick McGrath (2)
CON: Billy Dardis
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[accordion title=”Pool A: Fiji 40 Ireland 5″ load=”hide”]
Fiji controlled the game throughout scoring three tries in each half.
Ireland’s late response saw Sullivan record his second try of the tournament.
Ireland Scorers.
TRY: Peter Sullivan[/accordion]
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Ireland Sevens Squad: Jack Daly, Shane Daly, Billy Dardis, Ian Fitzpatrick, Cormac ‘Izzy’ Izuchukwu*, Jack Kelly, Hugo Lennox, Harry McNulty, Peter Maher*, Mick McGrath, Bryan Mollen, Greg O’Shea, Peter Sullivan.
*Debutant
In the overall competition it looks like an exciting climax is in store with the main contenders fiji and Usa progressing to the Cup finals.
The stage is set for an exhilarating finale to the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series on Sunday as the top two teams in the standings, Fiji and USA, successfully secured their places in the Cup quarter-finals at the final round in Paris.
Last weekend in London, Fiji overtook the USA in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series standings but the margin between the duo sits at just two points.
Alongside booking their own Cup quarter-final place, South Africa guaranteed their presence at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games early on the first day of action at a sun-drenched Stade Jean-Bouin.
The final set of Cup quarter-finals this season will see hosts France take on Fiji while the USA will face Kenya. The other two knockout clashes will be between New Zealand and Argentina, while South Africa will take on Samoa.
Corrections, comments or questions?