Irish Rugby and Sevens

Thud · 07-04-2019 10:00am

Woo hoo! Doesn't seem so long ago since we were arguing whether Ireland should bother with Sevens.
Great performance and they will make the pointy end of some tournaments next year.
Sevens now a viable choice for youth players so will see both more players coming through and growth of the sevens game in Ireland.

eagle eye · 07-04-2019 10:08am

Yes,we are going to be contenders for tournaments in a short while. It'll take a couple of seasons but I'd expect us to win tournaments as we get used to playing at the top table in sevens.

Thud · 07-04-2019 10:14am

eagle eye wrote: »

Yes,we are going to be contenders for tournaments in a short while. It'll take a couple of seasons but I'd expect us to win tournaments as we get used to playing at the top table in sevens.

They finished 3rd in London last year on their only invite to the series so mightn’t be that long. Pretty much the same squad too.

munsterlegend · 07-04-2019 10:50am

It will take a while to win a tournament I think. We struggled with Germany’s physicality and the likes of Fiji South Africa would still dominate us. However the only way to get better is being part of the series. Olympic qualification looks very tough from what I can read.

shotgunmcos · 07-04-2019 10:59am

Olympic QF is tough no matter what team you are. This is nothing but great for Irish Rugby

Onto the top flight now and 10x Tournaments on the series next year will only help the squad grow even stronger and more tactically acute to compete with the top teams

Agree it's a viable option for youth to aim for too. And would be great to see a national program around it to ensure we are represented at the Olympics and have another medium to develop and feed talent to through it and beyond

eagle eye · 07-04-2019 11:02am

shotgunmcos wrote:

Agree it's a viable option for youth to aim for too. And would be great to see a national program around it to ensure we are represented at the Olympics and have another medium to develop and feed talent to through it and beyond

Yeah you need a core group of players and then bring in young players who are not yet ready for top level 15's.

shotgunmcos · 07-04-2019 11:07am

https://twitter.com/WorldRugby7s/status/1114821827891621889?s=19

BOD interviewing Anthony Eddy and confirms Ireland will be at the London and Paris legs again this year.

durkadurka · 07-04-2019 11:10am

It’s got to be pretty expensive to send a squad round to five continents all year. Will we get appearance/prize money?

munsterlegend · 07-04-2019 11:17am

durkadurka wrote: »

It’s got to be pretty expensive to send a squad round to five continents all year. Will we get appearance/prize money?

I think there are big sponsorship deals as a result.

sydthebeat · 07-04-2019 11:23am

durkadurka wrote: »

It’s got to be pretty expensive to send a squad round to five continents all year.

all primary costs paid for by the competition organisers
no prize money at stake

however unfortunately sometimes you get circumstances like this year with Zimbabwe where players and fans had a 'whip around' to cover costs not included... as the Zimbabweans couldnt get money out of their country.

eagle eye · 07-04-2019 11:24am

durkadurka wrote:

Itâ€™s got to be pretty expensive to send a squad round to five continents all year. Will we get appearance/prize money?

Every team has sponsorship, obviously there are tv deals too. The prize money isn't very big.

jackdidley · 07-04-2019 11:38am

Super achievement from a small pool of players who specialise at 7’s.
What size squad will be needed to rotate for minimum 10 tournaments plus training camps etc?
How will contracts be agreed and with who (IRFU?) for the fellas who are looking at playing primarily 7’s

D14Rugby · 07-04-2019 11:56am

The contracts given now will be interesting. The 7s have had a big enough squad in training with them this year but how many of them would want to go full time 7s is a different thing altogether. Wonder if they'll do a mix of full and part time to allow players to stay in 15s academies and stuff.

Squidgy Black · 07-04-2019 11:57am

jackdidley wrote: »

Super achievement from a small pool of players who specialise at 7’s.
What size squad will be needed to rotate for minimum 10 tournaments plus training camps etc?
How will contracts be agreed and with who (IRFU?) for the fellas who are looking at playing primarily 7’s

Squad sizes for tournaments are 13 players, only 12 allowed to play in a given match. General squad size for tournaments/training camps and cover injuries would probably be around 17-20 ish.

Players are already contracted with the IRFU if they're not contracted to a province.

DJIMI TRARORE · 07-04-2019 11:58am

Can someone clarify for me, Was this a qualifier for the elite 7s,ie:to play Figi,SA,NZ etc and what must we do to get to olympics. TIA

Squidgy Black · 07-04-2019 12:06pm

DJIMI TRARORE wrote: »

Can someone clarify for me, Was this a qualifier for the elite 7s,ie:to play Figi,SA,NZ etc and what must we do to get to olympics. TIA

Yes, was a qualifier to become part of the World Series and play the top sides in tournaments.

Olympic qualifying is done by either getting top 4 in the World Series, winning one of the regional tournaments, or the last chance is the World Rugby Olympic Repechage tournament.

eagle eye · 07-04-2019 12:12pm

DJIMI TRARORE wrote:

Can someone clarify for me, Was this a qualifier for the elite 7s,ie:to play Figi,SA,NZ etc and what must we do to get to olympics. TIA

Yes we are now playing at the top level.

It's very hard to qualify for the Olympics as there will only be twelve teams.
Four teams qualify through the World Rugby sevens and we won't be one of them. There will be a European qualification tournament with only the winner qualifying. There will be tournaments for every continent.
We need to make the European qualification final to have any chance. The runners up from every continent battle it out for the final spot.
There is a chance that England get one of the WRC spots and at the Olympics it's GB so Wales and Scotland won't be trying to qualify. If that happens then we will basically battle it out with France and Spain for the European spot.

munsterlegend · 07-04-2019 12:30pm

Great sevens final between Fiji and France. The French have improved a lot but Fiji clinical with any chance. Ended 21-7 to Fiji.

munsterlegend · 07-04-2019 12:40pm

eagle eye wrote: »

Yes we are now playing at the top level.

It's very hard to qualify for the Olympics as there will only be twelve teams.
Four teams qualify through the World Rugby sevens and we won't be one of them. There will be a European qualification tournament with only the winner qualifying. There will be tournaments for every continent.
We need to make the European qualification final to have any chance. The runners up from every continent battle it out for the final spot.
There is a chance that England get one of the WRC spots and at the Olympics it's GB so Wales and Scotland won't be trying to qualify. If that happens then we will basically battle it out with France and Spain for the European spot.

France look very strong and we are probably about the same level as Spain. I don’t think England will get the top 4 which makes it very difficult.

eagle eye · 07-04-2019 2:15pm

munsterlegend wrote:

France look very strong and we are probably about the same level as Spain. I donâ€™t think England will get the top 4 which makes it very difficult.

Well it's a shootout between them and South Africa for the fourth spot. South Africa are struggling a bit having lost so many to 15s over the last couple of seasons. It'll go right down to the wire, SA's weakened squad cannot afford to lose an important player.
I think we are better than Spain, I think we are at or close to France's level. There's been a huge improvement in the Irish over the past twelve months. The coaching is excellent too, the movement of the players while in possession is up there with the best in the world. The defensive organisation this past weekend, apart from the Uruguay second half, was quite impressive too.

munsterlegend · 07-04-2019 3:11pm

eagle eye wrote: »

Well it's a shootout between them and South Africa for the fourth spot. South Africa are struggling a bit having lost so many to 15s over the last couple of seasons. It'll go right down to the wire, SA's weakened squad cannot afford to lose an important player.
I think we are better than Spain, I think we are at or close to France's level. There's been a huge improvement in the Irish over the past twelve months. The coaching is excellent too, the movement of the players while in possession is up there with the best in the world. The defensive organisation this past weekend, apart from the Uruguay second half, was quite impressive too.

Yeah maybe England will catch them. European series might suit them too in Paris and London. I think in physicality we would struggle big time with the top teams at the moment including France. Will be interesting how we do in the upcoming series where confidence should be high.

Cosmo Kramer · 07-04-2019 4:40pm

Interesting to see that Wales are in the relegation spot with three rounds to go and might be the team we replace next year. No Welsh teams guaranteed in the Pro 14 playoffs or next year's champions cup yet either. Their international side really are a huge outlier in comparison to the rest of their setup. You'd wonder how long that can continue as it seems to be a success story built on sand.

eagle eye · 07-04-2019 5:31pm

Cosmo Kramer wrote:

Interesting to see that Wales are in the relegation spot with three rounds to go and might be the team we replace next year. No Welsh teams guaranteed in the Pro 14 playoffs or next year's champions cup yet either. Their international side really are a huge outlier in comparison to the rest of their setup. You'd wonder how long that can continue as it seems to be a success story built on sand.

I think it'll be Japan that goes.
Yeah their club rugby is a bit of a shambles right now. Like the national team are very good and there's only two major players, Williams and Biggar that don't play their club rugby for a Welsh club. Its hard to know if it will improve, they are behind Ireland as regards development at under age.
They never seem to take the sevens that seriously outside of the European tournaments

The Lost Sheep · 07-04-2019 6:37pm

Thrashssacre wrote: »

Where do yous guys reckon we rank in relation to the other World Series teams? Midtable? Slightly higher?

We did well once as an invite side but difficult to say especially trying to say we'll be higher than mid table.

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Fantastic display from the lads, considering where they were 3 years ago playing in Europe B, to now be a core side in the World Series is absolutely immense, and a massive achievement for not only the players but for the coaching staff and the IRFU for putting the correct structures in place.

But will be interesting to see what IRFU do about 7s at age grade/domestic club level to help find future 7s players if we're to stay on the world series

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

Excellent, made it look routine. A black mark in Irish rugby corrected as regards our absence from the 7s circuit.

Massive pressure off them now in terms of the 7s series, once they're in they'll be far too good to have to worry about relegation, they should realistically aim for mid table next year and build from there.

Olympic qualification the next big goal presumably?

Staying on world series would be higher goal for me tbh.
Olympics would be great but finding feet on world series is far greater importance

Thud wrote: »

Woo hoo! Doesn't seem so long ago since we were arguing whether Ireland should bother with Sevens.
Great performance and they will make the pointy end of some tournaments next year.
Sevens now a viable choice for youth players so will see both more players coming through and growth of the sevens game in Ireland.

7s needs to be played more in clubs so kids can play it there and i would use clubs not the schools as it has extra benefit for some areas of getting kids who dont play club rugby in their teens in the 15s game because of schools-youths restrictions a chance to keep ties to the club where in many cases they began playing the sport

eagle eye wrote: »

Yes,we are going to be contenders for tournaments in a short while. It'll take a couple of seasons but I'd expect us to win tournaments as we get used to playing at the top table in sevens.

Steady on. Very hard to say that we will be going on to win tournaments.

durkadurka wrote: »

It’s got to be pretty expensive to send a squad round to five continents all year. Will we get appearance/prize money?

World Rugby/HSBC cover a lot of the costs

The Lost Sheep · 08-04-2019 1:19am

So for mens side we have slots as invitational side in world series coming up and then european grand prix series in Moscow, Lodz(Poland) as well as Olympic qualification tournament in Colombiers France
Moscow is June 22/23, Colombiers is July 13/14 and Lodz is July 20/21

Women have grand prix June 29/30 in Marcoussis and July 20/21 in Ukraine
and Olympic Qualification July 13/14 in Kazan Russia

arsebiscuits1 · 08-04-2019 2:35pm

Very, very impressed with the showing of the lads over the weekend.

The fitness, skills and dedication on display was really heartwarming to see. The emotion at the end showed what it meant.

I am extremely excited to see what these fellas can do on the bigger stages. We've already seen them finish 3rd in London. Their world cup finish (9th) probably more indicative of where they are as a team currently. But the team as they are will be more than capable of some top 4 finishes next season.

What they are lacking most on the side currently I feel is an out and out enforcer. Someone like a James Rodwell for England.

Currently filling that role is Harry McNulty who I feel is an absolutely superb athlete and has been integral to Irelands efforts so far. But he's at most 90kgs and 6'1"

I would absolutely love to see Nick Timoney or someone similar to him in the Ireland setup. He had such pace and size that you could really shape a lot around him

The Lost Sheep · 08-04-2019 6:27pm

arsebiscuits1 wrote: »

Very, very impressed with the showing of the lads over the weekend.

The fitness, skills and dedication on display was really heartwarming to see. The emotion at the end showed what it meant.

I am extremely excited to see what these fellas can do on the bigger stages. We've already seen them finish 3rd in London. Their world cup finish (9th) probably more indicative of where they are as a team currently. But the team as they are will be more than capable of some top 4 finishes next season.

What they are lacking most on the side currently I feel is an out and out enforcer. Someone like a James Rodwell for England.

Currently filling that role is Harry McNulty who I feel is an absolutely superb athlete and has been integral to Irelands efforts so far. But he's at most 90kgs and 6'1"

I would absolutely love to see Nick Timoney or someone similar to him in the Ireland setup. He had such pace and size that you could really shape a lot around him

Timoney played for the 7s side 2 years ago on grand prix series. Now we're on series we'll see a good few more involved as they have more opportunities to play. Grand Prix series in summer will help that

Richie_Rich89 · 08-04-2019 10:04pm

arsebiscuits1 wrote: »

Very, very impressed with the showing of the lads over the weekend.

The fitness, skills and dedication on display was really heartwarming to see. The emotion at the end showed what it meant.

I am extremely excited to see what these fellas can do on the bigger stages. We've already seen them finish 3rd in London. Their world cup finish (9th) probably more indicative of where they are as a team currently. But the team as they are will be more than capable of some top 4 finishes next season.

What they are lacking most on the side currently I feel is an out and out enforcer. Someone like a James Rodwell for England.

Currently filling that role is Harry McNulty who I feel is an absolutely superb athlete and has been integral to Irelands efforts so far. But he's at most 90kgs and 6'1"

I would absolutely love to see Nick Timoney or someone similar to him in the Ireland setup. He had such pace and size that you could really shape a lot around him

I'd have thought McNulty was a bit bigger than that. The interwebz has him down at 94-95kg and 6'2''

arsebiscuits1 · 09-04-2019 10:13am

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Timoney played for the 7s side 2 years ago on grand prix series. Now we're on series we'll see a good few more involved as they have more opportunities to play. Grand Prix series in summer will help that

I know I thought he was incredible that year. His pace was outstanding for such a big fella

arsebiscuits1 · 09-04-2019 10:15am

Richie_Rich89 wrote: »

I'd have thought McNulty was a bit bigger than that. The interwebz has him down at 94-95kg and 6'2''

I could see him having those dimensions but that would be his absolute max size I reckon.

I don't necessarily mean he is undersized, but the sheer explosiveness and pace is something that he is slightly lacking.

I don't want to seem like I am criticising McNulty either.

I am just using him as the example as he is the biggest player on the squad and we could really do with someone slightly bigger and a bit more powerful

Squidgy Black · 09-04-2019 10:33am

Most teams on the world series generally have a forward of some description, be it a 2nd row or backrow. I'd say it'll be something we'll have to bring in to combat the physicality of other teams at the breakdown etc next year.

arsebiscuits1 · 09-04-2019 10:48am

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Most teams on the world series generally have a forward of some description, be it a 2nd row or backrow. I'd say it'll be something we'll have to bring in to combat the physicality of other teams at the breakdown etc next year.

I'd love to see Max Deegan play Sevens.

I know this will never happen as he has a massive 15s career ahead of him but if he got a good grasp on the game he'd be unbelievable.

He's got the hands, pace and physicality. He's a real all around athlete. If he were to shed 5-6kgs to get a yard or 2 more pace I really think he'd prosper

ScrubsfanChris · 14-04-2019 8:11pm

Ireland drawn in a pool with NZ, England and Scotland for the London 7s

Tricky one that

The Lost Sheep · 14-04-2019 8:29pm

ScrubsfanChris wrote: »

Ireland drawn in a pool with NZ, England and Scotland for the London 7s

Tricky one that

Very tough. 3rd, 5th,10th in series standings

shotgunmcos · 14-04-2019 9:19pm

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Very tough. 3rd, 5th,10th in series standings

Sure is
NZ are well, NZ
Eng chasing Olympic QF top 4 and home event
Sco tend to up their game at London to put it mildly

A win in any of those pool matches would be something
Cup QF would be amazing

Cosmo Kramer · 14-04-2019 9:47pm

Interesting one in that I think I'm right in saying we want England to do really well in the next two rounds as it helps our Olympic prospects. So we could actually be doing ourselves a disservice if we beat them in the group game.

The Lost Sheep · 14-04-2019 9:52pm

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

Interesting one in that I think I'm right in saying we want England to do really well in the next two rounds as it helps our Olympic prospects. So we could actually be doing ourselves a disservice if we beat them in the group game.

Yeah. 2 rounds left and England 14 points behind South Africa so would need big England performances and South Africans not to do well. And South Africa have won 2 of last 3 rounds.

The Lost Sheep · 16-04-2019 2:36pm

THE IRELAND WOMEN’S Sevens squad has been confirmed for this weekend’s World Series event in Japan

Claire Boles (Railway Union/Ulster)
Megan Burns (Tullamore/Leinster)
Aoife Doyle (Shannon/Railway Union/Munster)
Louise Galvin (UL Bohemian/Munster)
Katie Heffernan (Mullingar/Railway Union/Leinster)
Eve Higgins (Railway Union/Leinster)
Brittany Hogan (Railway Union/Ulster)
Emily Lane (Mallow/Munster)
Anna McGann (UCD/Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Lucy Mulhall (Rathdrum)
Amee-Leigh Murphy-Crowe (Railway Union/Munster)
Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird (Old Belvedere/Munster)
Hannah Tyrrell (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Ireland’s fixtures
Saturday 20th April 2019

Ireland v Fiji – 2.30am (Irish time) / 10.30am (local)
Ireland v England – 5.14am (Irish time) / 1.14pm (local)
Ireland v USA – 8.20am (Irish time) / 4.20pm (local)
Sunday 21st April 2019

Finals Day

The Lost Sheep · 20-04-2019 9:49am

Ireland beat Fiji 31-10 and lost to England 31-0 and lost to USA 15-12

Rigor Mortis · 21-04-2019 10:29am

Women lost to France in the quarters and then beat Russia to get 7th place

The Lost Sheep · 28-04-2019 9:33pm

Next world series events
Women: Langford Canada 11/12 May(play Australia, Brazil, Canada in pool), Biarritz 15/16 June
Men: London 25/26 May(NZ, England, Scotland) and Paris 1/2 June

Kinsale 7s next weekend
Tullamore(midnight 7s) and Connemara will have their usual 7 tournaments through the summer as well as plenty others.
Would be good to see a club 7s series put in place now we're in the world series. could be interesting way to see potential 7s pro players.

connemara man · 28-04-2019 10:08pm

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Next world series events
Women: Langford Canada 11/12 May(play Australia, Brazil, Canada in pool), Biarritz 15/16 June
Men: London 25/26 May(NZ, England, Scotland) and Paris 1/2 June

Kinsale 7s next weekend
Tullamore(midnight 7s) and Connemara will have their usual 7 tournaments through the summer as well as plenty others.
Would be good to see a club 7s series put in place now we're in the world series. could be interesting way to see potential 7s pro players.

There's going to be an AIL 7s for women. Completely separate from the summer events ( which is mad)

The Lost Sheep · 28-04-2019 10:09pm

connemara man wrote: »

There's going to be an AIL 7s for women. Completely separate from the summer events ( which is mad)

Great to have but crazy to split it from the summer events. Should be tied into the existing events and would be far more successful.

The Lost Sheep · 11-05-2019 10:37pm

Womens team playing Canadian 7s
Lost to Australia 33-5, lost to Canada 22-5
Brazil next

The Lost Sheep · 12-05-2019 2:23pm

Ireland beat Brazil 32-7 and play China in Challenge Trophy(9th-12th) at 6.46pm this evening
Brazil and Fiji are in other challenge trophy semi final

The Lost Sheep · 21-05-2019 1:29pm

IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Squad (World Rugby Sevens Series – London 7s, Twickenham Stadium, London, Saturday, May 25th & Sunday May 26th)
Jordan Conroy (Tullamore RFC/Buccaneers)
Jack Daly (Castleisland RFC/Garryowen/Munster) *
Billy Dardis (Terenure College/Terenure College) Captain
Foster Horan (Kilkenny College/Lansdowne)
Jack Kelly (St. Michaels College/Dublin University/Leinster) *
Terry Kennedy (St. Mary’s College/St. Mary’s College)
Adam Leavy (St. Michaels College/Lansdowne)
Hugo Lennox (Skerries RFC/Clontarf)
Mick McGrath (CUS/Clontarf)
Harry McNulty (Rockwell College/UCD)
Bryan Mollen (Blackrock College/Blackrock College)
Peter Sullivan (St. Andrews College/Lansdowne)*
Mark Roche (Blackrock College/Blackrock College)

kingofthekong · 21-05-2019 4:11pm

Thats a great squad

Squidgy Black · 21-05-2019 8:31pm

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Squad (World Rugby Sevens Series – London 7s, Twickenham Stadium, London, Saturday, May 25th & Sunday May 26th)
Jordan Conroy (Tullamore RFC/Buccaneers)
Jack Daly (Castleisland RFC/Garryowen/Munster) *
Billy Dardis (Terenure College/Terenure College) Captain
Foster Horan (Kilkenny College/Lansdowne)
Jack Kelly (St. Michaels College/Dublin University/Leinster) *
Terry Kennedy (St. Mary’s College/St. Mary’s College)
Adam Leavy (St. Michaels College/Lansdowne)
Hugo Lennox (Skerries RFC/Clontarf)
Mick McGrath (CUS/Clontarf)
Harry McNulty (Rockwell College/UCD)
Bryan Mollen (Blackrock College/Blackrock College)
Peter Sullivan (St. Andrews College/Lansdowne)*
Mark Roche (Blackrock College/Blackrock College)

Good mix of players, and interesting to see the squads are still leaning towards more full time 7s players and not those contracted by the provinces.

Would be interesting to see if there was a pathway for academy players to be involved in wider squads, the likes of Balacoune and the O'Briens did quite well in 7s.

kingofthekong · 22-05-2019 11:00am

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Good mix of players, and interesting to see the squads are still leaning towards more full time 7s players and not those contracted by the provinces.

Would be interesting to see if there was a pathway for academy players to be involved in wider squads, the likes of Balacoune and the O'Briens did quite well in 7s.

Both are players that are needed by provinces and have featured this season, players who arent likely to be needed by provinces are the ones used

The Lost Sheep · 22-05-2019 1:27pm

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Good mix of players, and interesting to see the squads are still leaning towards more full time 7s players and not those contracted by the provinces.

Would be interesting to see if there was a pathway for academy players to be involved in wider squads, the likes of Balacoune and the O'Briens did quite well in 7s.

With us now on 7s series isnt that understandable?
It will go to full time 7s players and academy players who may then go on to be full time 15s or 7s.

Irish Rugby and Sevens

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