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Ireland Men’s Sevens Squad And Structures Announced

The Irish Rugby Football Union today announced details of the Ireland Men’s Sevens squad and structures, as the coaches and players begin the journey towards a place on the World Rugby Sevens World Series and a possible Olympic spot.

IN PICS: IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT

The process began with a number of talent identification and screening days in January with over 300 athletes taking part. The programme has now reached the tournament phase with Ireland teams set to compete at the GB 7s Series and Rugby Europe tournaments.

The Ireland Men’s team kick off at the Rugby Europe Division C tournament in Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 6-7. The Irish side share Pool B with Turkey, Belarus and Montenegro.

The top four teams from this tournament will be promoted to Division B and compete in Croatia on June 20-21. The highest-ranked eligible team from Division B qualifies to participate in the Rugby Europe Olympic Repechage tournament which will take place in Lisbon on July 18-19.

The winners of the Lisbon tournament will then have the opportunity to compete in the World Olympic Repechage in 2016 to secure the last spot for Rio 2016.

An Ireland squad, under the Ireland Wolfhounds name, will take part in the GB 7s Series starting on May 30 in Edinburgh, Scotland before moving to Coventry, England on June 6 and finishing in Colwyn Bay, Wales on June 13.

IRFU Performance Director David Nucifora (pictured above with IRFU Director of Sevens Rugby and head coach Anthony Eddy) said: “We were really impressed with the interest and the talent that applied for our Men’s Sevens squad back in January. With over 300 applicants, we had our work cut out to select just 26 players to take part in the upcoming events.

“We believe that this is a great opportunity for Irish rugby to develop a different pool of players in a different way. It is our ambition to be a part of the Sevens World Series by the end of 2017 whilst also having an outside chance for Olympic qualification in Rio in 2016.

“This is an exciting time for the players, for Irish rugby and we know that every Irish fan will wish them well.”

For updates on Ireland Sevens, visit www.IrishRugby.ie/sevens.

2015 IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS SQUAD:

Cian Aherne (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Alan Bennie (Clanwilliam/Munster)
Adam Byrne (UCD/Leinster)
Aaron Cairns (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Tom Daly (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Matthew D’Arcy (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Ian Fitzpatrick (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Dan Goggin (Young Munster/Munster)
Eoghan Grace (Exiles)
Foster Horan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Alex Kane (Exiles)
Terry Kennedy (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Michael Lawton (Exiles)
Shane Layden (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Gearoid Lyons (Young Munster/Munster)
Diarmaid McCarthy (Young Munster/Munster)
David McGuigan (Ballynahinch/Ulster)
Harry McNulty (UCD/Leinster)
Dave Moore (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Luke O’Dea (Shannon/Munster)
Matthew O’Regan (Exiles)
Mark Roche (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Steve Toal-Lennon (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Conor Toolan (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Ciaran Wardle (Exiles)
Alex Wootton (Garryowen/Munster)

Ireland Men’s Sevens Management

Anthony Eddy – Head Coach
Stan McDowell – Assistant Coach
Sinead Bennett – Team Manager
Marian Earls – Strength & Conditioning
James Allen – Physio

Ireland Men’s Sevens Fixtures

Rugby Europe Men’s Division C –
June 6-7, Zenica, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Bosnia, Turkey, Estonia, Serbia, Belarus, Austria, Iceland, Montenegro, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Ireland, Malta

Teams in Division B –
June 20-21, Zagreb, Croatia

Croatia, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Norway, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Slovakia, Greece
Plus four teams promoted from Division C

GB 7s Series –