Irish Rugby and Sevens

SaoPaulo41 · 06-11-2022 9:30pm

Is Terry Kennedy not playing 7s anymore?

Lost Ormond · 06-11-2022 9:34pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119842574#Comment_119842574

Nothing to say he isnt. Could be injured or just not selected for this round

CIARAN_BOYLE · 06-11-2022 9:34pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119842574#Comment_119842574

He retired/took a year out as his part time job made an offer of a full time position.

He mentioned that he would like to come back for the Olympics but who knows if his employer may want him to keep working full time or if he will get used to earning more money.

That said he works for the sponsor of the sevens team so he may be encouraged to come back.

SaoPaulo41 · 06-11-2022 9:42pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119842593#Comment_119842593

Ah ok thanks, big loss so ,he singlehandedly won some games in last few tournaments with individual tries

CIARAN_BOYLE · 06-11-2022 9:55pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119842628#Comment_119842628

You are right its a big loss.

I only found out from the commentators during the sevens rwc back in september.

There's not a huge amount of money in sevens. According to one article I found the contracted players are on roughly 20K per annum + appearance money for each event they are picked for.

Conroy seem to get decent media and sponsorship but the others don't.

Nucifora mentioned recently that there is a sevens six nations being planned for. If that happens hopefully the sevens 6 nations can piggy back on the actual six nations and draw some decent sponsorship money. At the very least there will be extra appearance money for the players.

Edited to add: I believe that the contract group is 20 players. At the end of 2020/2021 5 players in their 20s retired so move on from sevens.

pickarooney · 06-11-2022 11:34pm

A six nations after the GB teams just United into one?

CIARAN_BOYLE · 07-11-2022 7:25pm

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.irishrugby.ie/2022/10/27/nucifora-cape-town-was-an-unbelievable-effort-from-those-boys/amp/

Kennedy in Australia on sabbatical foe the year.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119843198#Comment_119843198

You are right that it sounds a bit odd. I'm not sure if the GB sevens is a permanent thing or just temporary for the Olympic qualification.

Lost Ormond · 07-11-2022 8:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119846432#Comment_119846432

The GB sevens is permanant afaik with the individual nations continuing to have their separate teams in the rugby europe series, Commonwealth games and 7s world cup every couple of years

peteeeed · 20-11-2022 10:16pm

https://twitter.com/IrishRugby/status/1594439175024959488?s=20&t=dkolJmhKPbBtK6bNPJ4dhA

Lost Ormond · 27-11-2022 6:54pm

2nd and 3rd rounds for men and 1st and 2nd rounds for women over next 2 weekends.

Next weekend in Dubai before the following weekend in Cape town

Lost Ormond · 28-11-2022 7:44pm

IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Squad (Dubai Sevens, Sevens Stadium, December 2-3, 2022):

Niall Comerford (UCD RFC/Leinster)

Jordan Conroy (Buccaneers RFC)

Sean Cribbin (Suttonians RFC)

Ed Kelly (Dublin University FC)

Jack Kelly (Dublin University FC)

Hugo Lennox (Skerries RFC)

Harry McNulty (UCD RFC)

Bryan Mollen (UCD RFC)

Chay Mullins (Connacht/IQ Rugby)

Aaron O’Sullivan (UCD RFC)

Mark Roche (Lansdowne FC)

Andrew Smith (Clontarf FC/Leinster)

Zac Ward (Ballynahinch RFC)

IRELAND WOMEN’S SEVENS Squad (Dubai Sevens, Sevens Stadium, December 2-3, 2022):

Kathy Baker (Blackrock College RFC)

Megan Burns (Blackrock College RFC)

Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe (Railway Union RFC)

Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC)

Katie Heffernan (Railway Union RFC)

Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC)

Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC)

Erin King (Old Belvedere RFC)

Vicky Elmes Kinlan (Wicklow RFC)

Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC)

Kate Farrell McCabe (Suttonians RFC)

Lucy Mulhall (Wicklow RFC) (capt)

Béibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College RFC)

IRELAND SEVENS Schedule – Dubai Sevens:

Friday, December 2 –

Ireland Women v Spain, Sevens Stadium, 9am local time/5am Irish time
Ireland Men v Spain, Sevens Stadium, 10.06am local time/6.06am Irish time
Ireland Women v Japan, Sevens Stadium, 12.21pm local time/8.21am Irish time
Ireland Men v Uganda, Sevens Stadium, 2.36pm local time/10.36am Irish time
Ireland Women v Fiji, Sevens Stadium, 4.13pm local time/12.13pm Irish time
Ireland Men v France, Sevens Stadium, 7.35pm local time/3.35pm Irish time.

Saturday, December 3 –

Play-Off Matches.

Thud · 01-12-2022 1:37pm

Are the pool draws seeded? looks like we've gotten an easier draw here and last tournament in Hong Kong. Avoided NZ, Fiji and Oz in both.

01-12-2022 1:46pm

Ireland are playing developmental teams in the Dubai Invitational Tournament this weekend (men & women), with some interesting selections:

Ireland Men’s Development Squad: Sion Cowdy, Billy Dardis, Sean Galvin, Hubert Gilvarry, Will Goddard, Dylan O’Grady, Mark Lee, Fergus Jemphrey, Aitzol King, Liam McNamara, Connor O’Sullivan, Tom Roche

Very interested to see Aitzol King called into this.

The 7s programme has stood us in great stead in recent years in terms of developing the skillsets of guys like Hugo Keenan, Jimmy O'Brien, Will Connors and Robert Baloucoune, and while King looks like a great raw athlete, it would be interesting to see if his handling and elusiveness might improve with some time playing 7s.

realhorrorshow · 01-12-2022 2:02pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119944119#Comment_119944119

Does the three year stand down period apply to sevens? That's hardly the same Liam McNamara that played for Australia a few years back?

Also see Will Goddard, Aussie 10/15 who spent a few months with Connacht a few years back, is involved.

arsebiscuits1 · 01-12-2022 2:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119944119#Comment_119944119

When I saw McNulty at the captains media stuff I just assumed Dardis was injured.

I wonder why he's not with the main squad.

I get having a player of his calibre would be beneficial for a development squad. But Dubai is a big event and the start of the world series.

Surely you'd want your longstanding captain and playmaker there? Unless he's been dropped

CIARAN_BOYLE · 01-12-2022 2:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119944227#Comment_119944227

Dardis was at Hong Kong which was the start of the world series a few weeks ago.

I guess they wanted to have a look at someone else in his role.

I don't know if Dardis has another career? A lot of the sevens guys are trying to balance rugby with another career. Maybe he is struggling with that and is left out of the main squad as a result.

01-12-2022 2:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119944283#Comment_119944283

I'm pretty sure he (like Terry Kennedy) works for the 7s team's main sponsor Triton Lake.

CIARAN_BOYLE · 01-12-2022 10:32pm

Is Mark Lee the first underage sevens international to play senior sevens (even if only for the development team).

I sort of think he might be. We haven't always put focus on sevens at underage level.

Lost Ormond · 02-12-2022 2:08am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119946572#Comment_119946572

Not at all. Greg o Shea, Billy Dardis, Aaron Sexton all played.

We dont have any real focus on sevens at age grade level in terms of yearly tournaments or even occasional tournaments but we've had irish teams compete in the FIRA/Rugby europe u18/19 7s tournaments for years.

sydthebeat · 02-12-2022 12:18pm

shaky start but good win against uganda 33 - 15 after a 12 all draw with spain earlier

CIARAN_BOYLE · 02-12-2022 2:50pm

The Irish women top their pool beating Spain Japan and Fiji. Probably playing USA in the Quarter Final.

The men are 2nd in their pool with a game vs France to come.

SaoPaulo41 · 02-12-2022 5:31pm

Men beaten by France 14-7

S.M.B. · 02-12-2022 5:34pm

Scraped through in second place and up against Argentina in the quarters.

CIARAN_BOYLE · 03-12-2022 1:43pm

The Irish women finish 6th after losing to USA in the Quarter final and beating Great Britain in the 5th place semi and losing to Fiji in the 5th place final.

The men are in the final after beating Argentina and USA. They face the Blitzboks.

Pudsy33 · 03-12-2022 1:45pm

What time is the final?

CIARAN_BOYLE · 03-12-2022 1:56pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119952342#Comment_119952342

3:26 I believe.

https://www.world.rugby/sevens-series/stage/2107/match#matches

CIARAN_BOYLE · 03-12-2022 4:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119944076#Comment_119944076

Its a bit late but I just checked. Pools are seeded based on results of the last event.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119944227#Comment_119944227

For Hong Kong we brought 13 players. 3 playmakers, Roche started most games, Dardis was the reserve for most games and Lennox was the reserve for some games.

In this game series Roche is starting the games with Lennox as a reserve.

I guess Roche is the starting playmaker so Dardis isn't considered a starter despite his leadership. Maybe they decided to give Lennox a bit more experience.

Final on now South Africa lead 7-0.

CIARAN_BOYLE · 03-12-2022 4:38pm

I guess its South Africa's final to win. They seem to have control at half time.

South Africa 21-Ireland 0

CIARAN_BOYLE · 03-12-2022 4:58pm

Final Score 21-5. The Irish men with have to wait some more before they win their first world series title.

In the standings we are now 4th after 2 events. It will be hard to finish top 4 at the end of the season which is needed for automatic qualification for the next Olympics but that has to be the goal.

Thud · 03-12-2022 8:23pm

Didn't get the run of the game in the final, not sure slowing things down in attack was a good tactic (whatever about defense) rarely had the type of broken play Conroy thrives on.

Thanks Ciaran,that'll mean they should avoid semi finalists in the pool stages next time out so

Lost Ormond · 08-12-2022 9:49pm

IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Squad (Cape Town Sevens, Cape Town Stadium, December 9-11, 2022):

Niall Comerford (UCD RFC/Leinster)

Jordan Conroy (Buccaneers RFC)

Sean Cribbin (Suttonians RFC)

Ed Kelly (Dublin University FC)

Jack Kelly (Dublin University FC)

Hugo Lennox (Skerries RFC)

Harry McNulty (UCD RFC)

Bryan Mollen (UCD RFC)

Will Goddard (IQ Rugby)

Aaron O’Sullivan (UCD RFC)

Mark Roche (Lansdowne FC)

Andrew Smith (Clontarf FC/Leinster)

Zac Ward (Ballynahinch RFC)

IRELAND WOMEN’S SEVENS Squad (Cape Town Sevens, Cape Town Stadium, December 9-11, 2022):

Kathy Baker (Blackrock College RFC)

Megan Burns (Blackrock College RFC)

Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe (Railway Union RFC)

Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC)

Katie Heffernan (Railway Union RFC)

Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC)

Brittany Hogan (Old Belvedere RFC)

Erin King (Old Belvedere RFC)

Vicky Elmes Kinlan (Wicklow RFC)

Claire Boles (Railway Union RFC)

Kate Farrell McCabe (Suttonians RFC)

Lucy Mulhall (Wicklow RFC) (capt)

Béibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College RFC)

IRELAND SEVENS Schedule – Cape Town Sevens:

Friday, December 9 –

Ireland Women v Spain, 1.28pm local time/11.28am Irish time
Ireland v Japan, 3.28pm local time/1.28pm Irish time
Ireland Women v South Africa, 6.37pm local time/4.37pm Irish time

Saturday, December 10 –

Ireland Men v Uruguay, 9.51am local time/7.51am Irish time
Ireland Women v Australia, 1.47pm local time/11.47am Irish time
Ireland Men v Samoa, 3.32pm local time/1.32pm Irish time

Saturday, December 11 –

Play-off matches.

CIARAN_BOYLE · 08-12-2022 10:48pm

Did anyone read a report on how the development squads got on in Dubai last week in their tournament?

Interesting to see Dardis left out of the main squad two weeks in a row.

Does anyone have a breakdown of a sevens team and our sevens players in particular by position?

I've noted that Dardis/Roche/Lennox play outhalf.

McNulty Sullivan and Ward are out first choice pack with Jack Kelly and Andrew Smith also being forwards.

Other than that I'm not really sure what sevens positions are never mind who plays where on the Irish team.

Lost Ormond · 08-12-2022 11:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119972926#Comment_119972926

Did you see results. 2/3 in group 42-0 win over french miltary, 19-7 win over 7 fantastics; 24-14 loss to zimbabwe cheetahs

lost cup quarter 28-19 to germany development. beat bond university 21-14 plate semi. beat 7 fantastics in plate final 19-12

womens developmment 1/3 in group. hammered 38-0 in quarter by south africa development then lost plate semi final

Maybe Dardis was injured or had other work commitments. nobody mentioned it anywhere in media?

Dardis/Roche/Lennox tend to be first receiver but beyond that its not really positions in sense of 15s or comparable. I suppose conroy and the other real big flyers will be furthest out to wing but i guess theres a fair amount of rotation between the positions...

RichieRich_89 · 08-12-2022 11:24pm

Thought Dardis was more a scrumhalf? Think he played scrumhalf with Keenan at outhalf when Keenan played 7s. Then there's a centre, a wing (Conroy), and three forwards. Kennedy must be a centre, is he?

CIARAN_BOYLE · 08-12-2022 11:30pm

Dardis was in the development squad last week. I was thinking leadership and a semi coaching role and expected to see him back.

I guess the positions are a lot more fluid than 15s. I'm just trying to figure out the game a bit more. I guess the outhalf/first receivers are a bit more obvious about their position because they are also place kickers.

Edit: The wikipedia profile for Mark Roche and Billy Dardis both says scrumhalf as their position. Lennox's wiki profile doesn't list a position.

CIARAN_BOYLE · 09-12-2022 5:27pm

There must have been a change to the squad listed above as Chay Mullins scores 2 tries in a 19-5 win against Japan.

The Irish women beat Spain 33-12 in their opening match.

The shock of the men's tournament surely happened in the Spain New Zealand match as Spain beat New Zealand 14-10.

Or are Spain improving that much. They got a draw with us last week but that was probably the highlight of their performance last week.

CIARAN_BOYLE · 10-12-2022 2:58pm

Irish women play France in the QF after beating SA and Spain in the group stage and losing to Australia.

Irish men currently 7-7 against Samoa in their last pool stage game. They beat Japan and lost to Uruguay. We need to win by 10 to qualify for last 8.

Edit currently ireland 21 Samoa 14

Ireland to play Kenya in the 9th place quarter final.

CIARAN_BOYLE · 10-12-2022 6:01pm

The Irish women beat France 12-10 in the quarter final. That sets up a semi final match with New Zealand tomorrow.

Thud · 14-12-2022 8:43pm

One of the commentators last week mentioned "whispers" on the circuit around why Dardis was out of the squad. Wonder why they haven't publicly stated why it is

Lost Ormond · 17-12-2022 2:17pm

Terry Kennedy playing rugby with Randwick for 2023 season

CIARAN_BOYLE · 21-01-2023 10:28am

There's a sevens series on at the moment.

Both Irish teams progressed to the qf.

The women beat Brazil and Spain and lost to USA. The face France in the qf.

The men beat Uruguay and Japan and drew to USA. They face New Zealand in the Quarter final.

CIARAN_BOYLE · 22-01-2023 11:31am

The Irish men lost to New Zealand in thr QF, beat South Africa Nd lost to Australia in thr 5th place play off to finish 6th.

The Irish women beat France in the Quarter final before losing to New Zealand in the semi and Australia in the 3rd place play off to finish 4th.

The Irish men are 9th in the series standings while the women are in 4th and a Olympic qualifying position.

Dodge · 22-01-2023 1:05pm

In terms of Olympic qualification, both teams are in fairly strong positions to do so.

France being pre-qualified is a huge help

For the men, it’s unlikely they’ll get through by the World Series ranks so it’ll come down to the European games and a likely head to head with GB. Even with a loss there the final qualification spot would see Ireland as favourites now

The women have a decent chance of top 4 in the World Series. It appears that last spot is between Ireland, GB and France. These 3 will qualify through a combination of hosts, World Series and European Games even without the need for the final qualifiers IMO

CIARAN_BOYLE · 22-01-2023 1:20pm

I didn't realise that France was prequalified.

That does make it much easier to qualify.

eagle eye · 24-01-2023 1:14pm

It was great to see McNulty. I presume he's gone again now with MLR back next month?

CIARAN_BOYLE · 26-01-2023 9:14pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120150256#Comment_120150256

I think he just did a season in MLR. He didn't play MLR last year.

CIARAN_BOYLE · 28-01-2023 9:57am

Australia sevens on at the moment. Ireland lost to Samoa and beat Spain and USA in the pool stage to book a match with South Africa in the Quarter final.

The Irish women beat Spain and Brazil before losing to Australia in the pool stage. They went onto beat Fiji in the Quarter final setting up a semi final appearance against New Zealand.

Shehal · 28-01-2023 10:15am

This Irish really are their own worst enemy at times...

typhoony · 28-01-2023 10:32am

The rule about a player kicking when out of touch states at the moment of making contact with the ball if the ball has crossed the plane of touch then is out, think they the call wrong it was out

sydthebeat · 28-01-2023 11:39am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120168888#Comment_120168888

the ball was no where near the line of touch though?

edit: apologies! on review... its absolutely close. definitely worth a second look to check if it had passed into the "white line" plane of touch, which it looks like it did.

wasnt the losing of the game though. two handling errors at the end of the first half, and Conroy was pretty poor on the day, caused 2 turnovers including the knock on which finished the game.