Ireland Sevens Team

Hagz

Didn't see anything posted about this anywhere. If it already has feel free to delete this mods.

http://thescore.thejournal.ie/irfu-sevens-2020-olympics-japan-1716637-Oct2014/

THE IRFU IS ready to embrace men’s rugby sevens again, with qualifying an Ireland team for the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan the long-term target.

TheScore.ie has learned that the IRFU plan to enter a team into level 2 of the FIRA European Sevens circuit in the summer of 2015, aiming to move into Tier 1 in 2016, before competing in a qualifier for the IRB Sevens World Series in 2017, all going according to plan.

TheScore.ie also understands that the IRFU intend to start a domestic sevens series on the ground in Ireland to support the re-launched national side, swelling the numbers and quality of rugby players with strong sevens’ skill sets.
The involvement of the IRFU’s Performance Director, David Nucifora, has been integral in this progress, with the Australian being a firm believer in the value of the sevens code, both as a standalone sport and as a tool to potentially improve 15-a-side players.

George Hook

Thank goodness.

I strongly believe that sevens is a much more accessible way to get kids involved with rugby in general.
Kids can very easily organize themselves go out and play a game of football - but you can't really do that with rugby for obvious reasons.
But with sevens, there isn't as much contact and players are more focused on looking for space rather than contact.

Hopefully this will take off and give a good platform for youngsters to develop their skills.

CptMackey

George Hook wrote: »

Thank goodness.

I strongly believe that sevens is a much more accessible way to get kids involved with rugby in general.
Kids can very easily organize themselves go out and play a game of football - but you can't really do that with rugby for obvious reasons.
But with sevens, there isn't as much contact and players are more focused on looking for space rather than contact.

Hopefully this will take off and give a good platform for youngsters to develop their skills.

Always wondered why they don't push tag rugby at a younger age. Zero contact , you have to look for space and good for your handling skills. Would naturally lead then to sevens and the full contact game

The Lost Sheep

CptMackey wrote: »

Always wondered why they don't push tag rugby at a younger age. Zero contact , you have to look for space and good for your handling skills. Would naturally lead then to sevens and the full contact game

Tag is used in a big way to promote the sport already. The development officers who go into primary/secondary schools use tag a huge amount to introduce rugby to those who have played little or no rugby before.

Teferi

George Hook wrote: »

Thank goodness.

I strongly believe that sevens is a much more accessible way to get kids involved with rugby in general.
Kids can very easily organize themselves go out and play a game of football - but you can't really do that with rugby for obvious reasons.
But with sevens, there isn't as much contact and players are more focused on looking for space rather than contact.

Hopefully this will take off and give a good platform for youngsters to develop their skills.

The 'organising soccer is easier than organising rugby' is a tired trope. I always ran a game of tipper with my mates on the field in front of our houses as a kid. I don't think 7's will be adding much of anything to the accessibility tbh.

Braken

Great news..I think we will be very competitive in time,it will create space for guys that won't make it at 15s but who. could be be exceptional at7s...there will be some cross over as in NZ and it will raise the rugby profile all round ...it's was always going to happen with sports council grants etc but it should have happened sooner...

CatFromHue

The Kiwi team as far as I know is a mix of specialists and a couple of younger guys.

I don't know how much cross over there is anymore. Just had a quick look at their squad this season and I don't think any of them play Super rugby.

mikeruurds

The South African sevens team has quite a bit of crossover with the international sevens circuit starting the careers of a few boks. Mixed success but there have been a few that have gone on to play 15s.

Braken

CatFromHue wrote: »

The Kiwi team as far as I know is a mix of specialists and a couple of younger guys.

I don't know how much cross over there is anymore. Just had a quick look at their squad this season and I don't think any of them play Super rugby.

Not as much as the past,this is not due to ability but a lot of the super 15 franchises don't want to release the players. Also. It's too demanding to play dual anymore and the money is bigger in the 15 game...that said NZ are trying to get some big names for the rio Olympics ,a guy involved in rugby in NZ told me their best chance of winning the Olympic 7s is the first time

The Lost Sheep

Teferi wrote: »

The 'organising soccer is easier than organising rugby' is a tired trope. I always ran a game of tipper with my mates on the field in front of our houses as a kid. I don't think 7's will be adding much of anything to the accessibility tbh.

It is true though about soccer easier to organise run etc even with tip. I do agree with you 7s wont add much more in terms accessibility and from experience of doing small bit of coaching in primary schools and refereeing primary school blitzes and tag will always be better for bringing the game to more people

Braken wrote: »

Great news..I think we will be very competitive in time,it will create space for guys that won't make it at 15s but who. could be be exceptional at7s...there will be some cross over as in NZ and it will raise the rugby profile all round ...it's was always going to happen with sports council grants etc but it should have happened sooner...

It possibly should have happened sooner but time wasn't right for IRFU. Hard to say if we will be very competitive. We have no real history in 7s across all grades with a few exceptions of tournaments like Kinsale etc

Braken

It possibly should have happened sooner but time wasn't right for IRFU. Hard to say if we will be very competitive. We have no real history in 7s across all grades with a few exceptions of tournaments like Kinsale etc[/QUOTE]
A lot will depend in the standard of coaching,Kenya became competitive in a short time with mike Friday who has now gone to the US 7s hoping to qualify them for Rio...the Irfu need to set up some specialist 7s coaching courses which are available in other countries...coaching will be the key crossover coaching from 15 won't be the answer...

LuckyGent88

Went to the Gold Coast sevens today. Fabulous entertain unmet and I'm delighted the irfu have finally gone ahead with establishing a team. I see no reason why we cannot be competitive at this level. It's a fantastic opportunity for some players and by bringing through kids at a young age there skill levels will surely increase.
The handling and offloading from most of the teams today was fantastic.

Probably jumping ahead a bit far but I'd love to have ireland included in the 7's circuit. The atmosphere here today was brilliant. While we may not get the 25 degree sunny weather, we would certainly put on a great show and get a big crowd.

The Lost Sheep

Braken wrote: »

A lot will depend in the standard of coaching,Kenya became competitive in a short time with mike Friday who has now gone to the US 7s hoping to qualify them for Rio...the Irfu need to set up some specialist 7s coaching courses which are available in other countries...coaching will be the key crossover coaching from 15 won't be the answer...

Kenya focused primarily on 7s though and while they are still progressing in 1s game they've put huge huge resources into 7s. We would need a lot of work with coaches from abroad and we would need a huge change in thoughts etc surrounding the sport

LuckyGent88 wrote: »

Went to the Gold Coast sevens today. Fabulous entertain unmet and I'm delighted the irfu have finally gone ahead with establishing a team. I see no reason why we cannot be competitive at this level. It's a fantastic opportunity for some players and by bringing through kids at a young age there skill levels will surely increase.
The handling and offloading from most of the teams today was fantastic.

Probably jumping ahead a bit far but I'd love to have ireland included in the 7's circuit. The atmosphere here today was brilliant. While we may not get the 25 degree sunny weather, we would certainly put on a great show and get a big crowd.

Problem is for skills to improve you need good coaches and while playing 7s will help the best thing for improving player skills is better standards of coaching.

George Hook

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Problem is for skills to improve you need good coaches and while playing 7s will help the best thing for improving player skills is better standards of coaching.

I would half agree with this, though I'd say since we are focusing on the young kids - general practice and getting a feel for ball skills would have more of an effect since many of them probably don't go out and play with a rugby ball at the moment anyway.

sydneybound

LuckyGent88 wrote: »

Went to the Gold Coast sevens today. Fabulous entertain unmet and I'm delighted the irfu have finally gone ahead with establishing a team. I see no reason why we cannot be competitive at this level. It's a fantastic opportunity for some players and by bringing through kids at a young age there skill levels will surely increase.
The handling and offloading from most of the teams today was fantastic.

Probably jumping ahead a bit far but I'd love to have ireland included in the 7's circuit. The atmosphere here today was brilliant. While we may not get the 25 degree sunny weather, we would certainly put on a great show and get a big crowd.

Watched bits of the Gold Coasts sevens today and yesterday. The crowds looked fairly poor from what I watched (the France V USA plate match and an England match yesterday) maybe it was better at certain times?

The Lost Sheep

George Hook wrote: »

I would half agree with this, though I'd say since we are focusing on the young kids - general practice and getting a feel for ball skills would have more of an effect since many of them probably don't go out and play with a rugby ball at the moment anyway.

Yes simply getting kids to have more time ball in hand is key. Too often kids train once or twice a week and play about 12-15 matches if that a season. IRFU guidelines state age grade teams get 12-15 competitive games a year. Do we provide that everywhere at all age groups? No. Id much rather we work on fixing our 15 a side game to be as good as it can before looking at 7s

Fiddley Foodle Bird wrote: »

It's always been disgusting and embarrassing that Eire has refused to field a team in recent years. Especially when you see the likes of USA and Portugal playing.

Disgusting and embarrassing is a bit much and Eire?? Its Ireland.

Yeah_Right

This is great news. I have always felt it was a great shame that Ireland didn't have a team on the 7s circuit and that 7s wasn't promoted in this country. It will take a couple of years before we start to see the benefits of a 7s program but we will definitely see benefits from it. As some other posters have mentioned, there needs to be specialist 7s couches involved. As long as this is done, it will work.

Someone mentioned that it would be great to have Dublin hosting an event on the circuit and I 100% agree. I have spoken about this with some mates about this and between us all we have been to half a dozen of the different locations that host tournaments. Some of them are brilliant with an amazing atmosphere and some are a bit of a let down. Edinburgh and London are 2 that could be scrapped in favour of Dublin.

phog

I wonder will Ireland enter a 7s team in the World 7s tournament in Thomond Park next year, it would great for the tournament and create an awareness for the Irish 7s team too.

Braken

phog wrote: »

I wonder will Ireland enter a 7s team in the World 7s tournament in Thomond Park next year, it would great for the tournament and create an awareness for the Irish 7s team too.

It would be a start if all the provinces were represented ,this year it was not supported by Leinster/ulster/Connacht ...the limerick event has huge potential ,this year the weather wasn't kind to it but it needs a bigger advertising budget,the kids at it really got into the atmosphere
Looking for autographs and taking selfies with the players...as I said in a previous post we need a specialist 7s coaching course from the IRFU at the soonest...

The Lost Sheep

Yeah_Right wrote: »

This is great news. I have always felt it was a great shame that Ireland didn't have a team on the 7s circuit and that 7s wasn't promoted in this country. It will take a couple of years before we start to see the benefits of a 7s program but we will definitely see benefits from it. As some other posters have mentioned, there needs to be specialist 7s couches involved. As long as this is done, it will work.

Someone mentioned that it would be great to have Dublin hosting an event on the circuit and I 100% agree. I have spoken about this with some mates about this and between us all we have been to half a dozen of the different locations that host tournaments. Some of them are brilliant with an amazing atmosphere and some are a bit of a let down. Edinburgh and London are 2 that could be scrapped in favour of Dublin.

They wouldnt scrap London nor Edinburgh for Dublin. Why would they? 7s home is Scotland and London big €€€

phog wrote: »

I wonder will Ireland enter a 7s team in the World 7s tournament in Thomond Park next year, it would great for the tournament and create an awareness for the Irish 7s team too.

Highly doubtful. It'll be Munster only more than likely with maybe 1 more province there in hope it would help bring more of a crowd
Wont be national side

Braken wrote: »

It would be a start if all the provinces were represented ,this year it was not supported by Leinster/ulster/Connacht ...the limerick event has huge potential ,this year the weather wasn't kind to it but it needs a bigger advertising budget,the kids at it really got into the atmosphere
Looking for autographs and taking selfies with the players...as I said in a previous post we need a specialist 7s coaching course from the IRFU at the soonest...

We wont see all the provinces playing as the other sides who compete in the world club 7s series will be in Thomond. Leinster/Ulster/Connacht were not asked to play in the 7s this year. The hurling that weekend was more of an issue than the weather

CatFromHue

phog wrote: »

I wonder will Ireland enter a 7s team in the World 7s tournament in Thomond Park next year, it would great for the tournament and create an awareness for the Irish 7s team too.

That comp is held at a really bad time for the Irish teams so I wouldn't be too optimistic tbh.

phog

CatFromHue wrote: »

That comp is held at a really bad time for the Irish teams so I wouldn't be too optimistic tbh.

Munster fielded a team, why couldn't the other three provinces/exiles manage one?

thomond2006

phog wrote: »

Munster fielded a team, why couldn't the other three provinces/exiles manage one?

No interest?

This is a pointless conversation unless we know they were or were not invited.

phog

thomond2006 wrote: »

No interest?

This is a pointless conversation unless we know they were or were not invited.

I'm not talking about the past, my post was about the future, especially now that the IRFU have expressed an interest in participating in 7s rugby - see post #18

The Lost Sheep

phog wrote: »

I wonder will Ireland enter a 7s team in the World 7s tournament in Thomond Park next year, it would great for the tournament and create an awareness for the Irish 7s team too.

They wont. Its a clubs/provinces competition. Another provincial team ideally Leinster or Connacht more than Ulster would be much better

phog wrote: »

I'm not talking about the past, my post was about the future, especially now that the IRFU have expressed an interest in participating in 7s rugby - see post #18

Even in future I doubt we'll see the other provinces compete. Maybe we'll see Munster compete in more events in the series but I would very much doubt we'll see another irish side added to just compete in the Thomond Park leg of the series

phog wrote: »

Munster fielded a team, why couldn't the other three provinces/exiles manage one?

No interest or feel resources better utilised elsewhere. Why would you have an exiles side play? Who would you have playing for it?

phog

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

They wont. Its a clubs/provinces competition. Another provincial team ideally Leinster or Connacht more than Ulster would be much better
Even in future I doubt we'll see the other provinces compete. Maybe we'll see Munster compete in more events in the series but I would very much doubt we'll see another irish side added to just compete in the Thomond Park leg of the series

No interest or feel resources better utilised elsewhere. Why would you have an exiles side play? Who would you have playing for it?

I'm not suggesting an Irish team/province compete just for the TP tournament, I'm suggesting it might be a good place too start.

I mentioned the exiles by way of a squad of players that could be used in addition to an Irish team rather than a team of their own right.

ArmaniJeanss

Yeah_Right wrote: »

Someone mentioned that it would be great to have Dublin hosting an event on the circuit and I 100% agree. I have spoken about this with some mates about this and between us all we have been to half a dozen of the different locations that host tournaments. Some of them are brilliant with an amazing atmosphere and some are a bit of a let down. Edinburgh and London are 2 that could be scrapped in favour of Dublin.

We are entering at what is effectively Tier 3 level, facing seasoned competitors and no guarantees as to how quickly we can move through the levels (my guess would be that it's unlikely to be two successive promotions).

It would be ridiculously cheeky for a Tier 3 team to already be looking to take the top level hosting away from Tier 1 teams.

AndonHandon

I would imagine that an Irish Sevens team would be a better revenue spinner for the IRFU than women's rugby, naturally to the detriment of women's rugby.

death1234567

AndonHandon wrote: »

I would imagine that an Irish Sevens team would be a better revenue spinner for the IRFU than women's rugby, naturally to the detriment of women's rugby.

Seven's would generate extra income which could be re-invested in the game. It wouldn't take from women's rugby or provincial rugby.

It's about time the IRFU started looking into getting a sevens team up an running. It's a farce that we haven't done it years ago.

its_phil

death1234567 wrote: »

Seven's would generate extra income which could be re-invested in the game. It wouldn't take from women's rugby or provincial rugby.

It's about time the IRFU started looking into getting a sevens team up an running. It's a farce that we haven't done it years ago.

How would it generate extra revenue?

The Lost Sheep

AndonHandon wrote: »

I would imagine that an Irish Sevens team would be a better revenue spinner for the IRFU than women's rugby, naturally to the detriment of women's rugby.

Would it? Where do you get that from? Hard to say it would and IRFU are not all about profit, if they were rugby would be ran and organised in Ireland very differently

death1234567 wrote: »

Seven's would generate extra income which could be re-invested in the game. It wouldn't take from women's rugby or provincial rugby.

It's about time the IRFU started looking into getting a sevens team up an running. It's a farce that we haven't done it years ago.

Would it? What extra income would we be getting from 7s we don't get now?

Yeah_Right

Revenue would come from new sponsors. Also more tournaments would generate revenue and interest. In the future having a World Series event in Dublin would be a massive money spinner.

The Lost Sheep

Yeah_Right wrote: »

Revenue would come from new sponsors. Also more tournaments would generate revenue and interest. In the future having a World Series event in Dublin would be a massive money spinner.

People keep mentioning having a world series event in Dublin. Even if we were to start competing in 7s we are a long way off getting a world series event considering we have 1. ignored 7s for so long 2. there is already world series events close by in London/Edinburgh 3. the IRB will look to newer and bigger markets than Dublin/Ireland to host legs of the world series as there is much more for IRB to benefit from than a leg in Dublin

Yeah_Right

I said in the future they should have a World Series event in Dublin. I wasn't suggesting that it happen next year. 3 or 4 years from now it might be an option. I would be in favour of scrapping the London or Edinburgh ones as they don't get the support that some of the others do and the atmosphere at them is average at best.

Rigor Mortis

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

People keep mentioning having a world series event in Dublin. Even if we were to start competing in 7s we are a long way off getting a world series event considering we have 1. ignored 7s for so long 2. there is already world series events close by in London/Edinburgh 3. the IRB will look to newer and bigger markets than Dublin/Ireland to host legs of the world series as there is much more for IRB to benefit from than a leg in Dublin

Our Government and our tourism authorities, despite their many faults, are very good at marketing Ireland for these kind of events. The formula is pretty straightforward, a bit of state funding, an assurance of soft support, make sure all the right infrastructure is in place and bobs your uncle.

On a separate note, while i think we could attract it, these major sports events are rarely big money spinners for the organisers.

George Hook

For some reason, and I can't see why but The Lost Sheep seems very against the idea of rugby sevens. Maybe he's just being the voice of reason? Or maybe it would be prudent to address you directly - why do you not want it?

I for one think it needs to be tried out and fully tested to see just how much traction it will get in Ireland. We will only know for sure once it's been implemented and been up and running for a few years. Far too much speculation and this point.

The goal should always be to move forward and keep expanding the game.

Avon Lee is predicting that the 7s game will eclipse the 15 aside in the future since it's been included in the Olympics, I sure as hell don't want my country missing the boat on this.

Braken

Yeah_Right wrote: »

I said in the future they should have a World Series event in Dublin. I wasn't suggesting that it happen next year. 3 or 4 years from now it might be an option. I would be in favour of scrapping the London or Edinburgh ones as they don't get the support that some of the others do and the atmosphere at them is average at best.

Not sure where you are getting your stats ...the 2013 London 7s had 103,000 weekend attendance, impressive by any standard

Braken

George Hook wrote: »

For some reason, and I can't see why but The Lost Sheep seems very against the idea of rugby sevens. Maybe he's just being the voice of reason? Or maybe it would be prudent to address you directly - why do you not want it?
[/QUOTE
I think LS doesn't see it being of any benefit to the 15 game why I think it's an alternative to players to make it internationally who might not be suitable for 15s and as the sports council aka the tax payer will be funding a large portion of this everybody is entitled to have a crack

sydneybound

Yeah_Right wrote: »

I would be in favour of scrapping the London or Edinburgh ones as they don't get the support that some of the others do and the atmosphere at them is average at best.

What? The twickenham sevens is about the best attended on the circuit. The first day when people dress up is always a sell out.

http://www.thesportreview.com/tsr/2014/05/sevens-world-series-england-finish-third-in-front-of-twickenham-crowd/

There is no sevens event in Edinburgh it's in Glasgow and was poorly attended last year as it clashed with a high profile athletics vent also taking place in the city that weekend also many of the Scottish public had bought tickets or the Commonwelth Games which in sevens was a massive success. They should move this event to ibrox and tap into that commonwealth games success/market.

The calendar looks quite poor the next round isn't until December that's a long time to wait and thn there's another weekend straight after it. Would it not be better to space out events to every 3 weeks? May mean more travelling though. Only 9 weekends on the circuit.

AndonHandon

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Would it? Where do you get that from? Hard to say it would and IRFU are not all about profit, if they were rugby would be ran and organised in Ireland very differently
Would it? What extra income would we be getting from 7s we don't get now?

Women's rugby does not generate much hype which in turn leads to poorly attended games and lack of sponsorship.

Sevens is almost a novelty in how different it is to the fifteens (as opposed to women's fifteens being the same as men's except of a poorer standard), in turn this generates greater hype and revenue.

Yeah_Right

sydneybound wrote: »

What? The twickenham sevens is about the best attended on the circuit. The first day when people dress up is always a sell out.

http://www.thesportreview.com/tsr/2014/05/sevens-world-series-england-finish-third-in-front-of-twickenham-crowd/

There is no sevens event in Edinburgh it's in Glasgow and was poorly attended last year as it clashed with a high profile athletics vent also taking place in the city that weekend also many of the Scottish public had bought tickets or the Commonwelth Games which in sevens was a massive success. They should move this event to ibrox and tap into that commonwealth games success/market.

The calendar looks quite poor the next round isn't until December that's a long time to wait and thn there's another weekend straight after it. Would it not be better to space out events to every 3 weeks? May mean more travelling though. Only 9 weekends on the circuit.

I wasn't quoting stats, just talking from my personal experience and that of some friends. You are right, the Scotland 7s isnt in Murrayfield anymore. Had some friends who went to it years ago and they said it was crap as the stadium was a quarter full and the re was no buzz in the city. Now its in Glasgow at a 15,000 seat stadium. I still think the RDS and in the future Landsdowne, would be a better venue. 7s is always a success at the Commonwealth Games but its not just locals that attend.

As for Twickenham, the stadium is half empty most of the time and the atmosphere isn't great. Never seen it sold out. I can't see them ever scrapping the London event though but the contract for the Scottish event expires in a couple of years so maybe Dublin should bid for it.

The Lost Sheep

Yeah_Right wrote: »

I wasn't quoting stats, just talking from my personal experience and that of some friends. You are right, the Scotland 7s isnt in Murrayfield anymore. Had some friends who went to it years ago and they said it was crap as the stadium was a quarter full and the re was no buzz in the city. Now its in Glasgow at a 15,000 seat stadium. I still think the RDS and in the future Landsdowne, would be a better venue. 7s is always a success at the Commonwealth Games but its not just locals that attend.

As for Twickenham, the stadium is half empty most of the time and the atmosphere isn't great. Never seen it sold out. I can't see them ever scrapping the London event though but the contract for the Scottish event expires in a couple of years so maybe Dublin should bid for it.

The Scots will always have a 7s event on the world series considering 7s was created in Melrose in Scotland and Dublin will never replace a Scottish venue on the series if it meant there would be no world series event in Scotland.

George Hook wrote: »

For some reason, and I can't see why but The Lost Sheep seems very against the idea of rugby sevens. Maybe he's just being the voice of reason? Or maybe it would be prudent to address you directly - why do you not want it?

I for one think it needs to be tried out and fully tested to see just how much traction it will get in Ireland. We will only know for sure once it's been implemented and been up and running for a few years. Far too much speculation and this point.

The goal should always be to move forward and keep expanding the game.

Avon Lee is predicting that the 7s game will eclipse the 15 aside in the future since it's been included in the Olympics, I sure as hell don't want my country missing the boat on this.

Im not against 7s and will be getting the teams I coach to enter 7s tournaments where possible etc and do enjoy it but I think at this time our resources are better spent elsewhere. Yes the goal should always be to move forward and expand the game but we need to expand the sport of rugby at 15 a side much more in Ireland before we start looking to expand at 7s. 7s wont eclipse the 15 a side game because its in the Olympics. It may see some countries change their approach to the sport but we will see the full 15 a side game still dominating proceedings

sydneybound wrote: »

What? The twickenham sevens is about the best attended on the circuit. The first day when people dress up is always a sell out.

http://www.thesportreview.com/tsr/2014/05/sevens-world-series-england-finish-third-in-front-of-twickenham-crowd/

There is no sevens event in Edinburgh it's in Glasgow and was poorly attended last year as it clashed with a high profile athletics vent also taking place in the city that weekend also many of the Scottish public had bought tickets or the Commonwelth Games which in sevens was a massive success. They should move this event to ibrox and tap into that commonwealth games success/market.

The calendar looks quite poor the next round isn't until December that's a long time to wait and thn there's another weekend straight after it. Would it not be better to space out events to every 3 weeks? May mean more travelling though. Only 9 weekends on the circuit.

I would assume the calendar is set up the way it is for costs. Probably much cheaper for all the unions to have several events close by and then a large enough break.

Thud

Yeah_Right wrote: »

As for Twickenham, the stadium is half empty most of the time and the atmosphere isn't great. Never seen it sold out.

Seven's events run pretty much all day and will have over a dozen nations playing most people will come in for their country's games and head back out to the bars/food for other games so it will rarely look like a sell out even when full sold. If the home team doesn't make the final many will head off early also.

The Lost Sheep

IRFU running open screening sessions for mens 7s side and these sessions will be in January. 4 talent ID sessions across the country

http://www.thescore.ie/do-you-have-takes-rugby-equivalent-x-factor-1809283-Dec2014/

Thud

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

IRFU running open screening sessions for mens 7s side and these sessions will be in January. 4 talent ID sessions across the country

http://www.thescore.ie/do-you-have-takes-rugby-equivalent-x-factor-1809283-Dec2014/

Unless they find a freak like Carlin Isles they'd be better off sticking to rugby players

The Lost Sheep

Thud wrote: »

Unless they find a freak like Carlin Isles they'd be better off sticking to rugby players

Maybe but they are right to try it. Will be interesting to see what squad they do use. I wonder will guys who are on fringes of the pro squads be looked at. Wouldn't Niyi, Mick Mc Grath not be bad at 7s. They could be possibilities...

.ak

I think GAA players will do well. A lot of them have great pace, step and turn of direction.

Yeah_Right

I think its a great idea. Who knows what they might find. I'm sure that most of the 7s squad will come from rugby backgrounds but they might get some from GAA, basketball etc. Some of those guys that try out might decide they enjoyed it and join their local club. Good on them for casting the net far and wide.

NiallBoo

Who knows what the results will be but there must be loads people competing in Gaelic or less popular sports who are training near the level of pros but will never have that opportunity in their sports; you'd think some of the would bite your hand off to become a professional sports-person.

awec

Id say anyone with serious pace and a decent level of fitness will be in with a good shout.

Braken

awec wrote: »

Id say anyone with serious pace and a decent level of fitness will be in with a good shout.

7s is more about pace and fitness ,it's getting more technical and more physical,like 15s the players are getting bigger and stronger ,the breakdown is now a contest and good tackle ability is a must...the GAA ,sprinters will have problems with the full contact nature of the game...