Strong Ireland Squad Selected For Silicon Valley 7s

The Ireland Men’s Sevens squad to compete in the inaugural Silicon Valley 7s tournament in San Jose, California this weekend has been confirmed.

Ireland competed at the Elche 7s competition in Spain last weekend, finishing as runners-up behind Wales, and six of those players involved in Alicante will competed in their second tournament in as many weeks.

Jordan Conroy, Shane Daly, Ian Fitzpatrick, Terry Kennedy, John O’Donnell and Mark Roche will all play in back-to-back tournaments, which is a common occurrence on the World Rugby World Sevens Series.

The six additional players to complete the 12-man Stateside-bound squad are Will Connors, team captain Billy Dardis, Harry McNulty, Bryan Mollen, Greg O’Shea and debutant Tim Schmidt, the Terenure College scrum half and son of Ireland 15s head coach Joe Schmidt.

The Silicon Valley 7s at the resplendent Avaya Stadium will feature a number of sides that compete on the World Series, with Ireland’s Pool A opponents Canada, England and Samoa all core teams.

Other sides competing at the tournament that are on the circuit include the likes of Australia, New Zealand, USA and Olympic Gold medallists Fiji.

Speaking ahead of some heavyweight clashes Stateside, IRFU Director of Sevens Rugby, Anthony Eddy, said: “This weekend’s tournament is set to be another big test for the players selected. We’re in a challenging pool, with three core World Series sides, including last year’s runners-up England, so it’s another chance to benchmark ourselves against top class opposition.

“Those players who were involved in last weekend’s tournament in Elche will also need to make sure they’ve rested and recovered appropriately ahead of this weekend – this is one of the most important aspects for sides involved on the World Series, so it’s a good opportunity to replicate these conditions.”

The tournament takes place across Saturday and Sunday at Avaya Stadium, which has a capacity of approximately 18,000 and is the home of Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes. In addition to 34 international men’s matches, the Silicon Valley 7s will feature 20 collegiate games, an international cultural festival, and an Island concert series.

For more information on the tournament, or to buy tickets, visit http://www.sevensrugby.com/.

IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Squad (2017 Silicon Valley 7s Tournament, Avaya Stadium, San Jose, California, USA, Saturday, November 4-Sunday, November 5):

Will Connors (UCD/Leinster)
Jordan Conroy (Buccaneers/Connacht)
Shane Daly (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Billy Dardis (UCD) (capt)
Ian Fitzpatrick (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Terry Kennedy (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Harry McNulty (UCD)
Bryan Mollen (Dublin University)
John O’Donnell (Lansdowne)
Greg O’Shea (Shannon)
Mark Roche (Blackrock College)
Tim Schmidt (Terenure College)

IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Fixtures –

Silicon Valley 7s:

Saturday, November 4 – Pool A:
 
Samoa v Ireland, Avaya Stadium, 12.06pm local time/7.06pm Irish time
Canada v Ireland, Avaya Stadium, 3.44pm local time/10.44pm Irish time
England v Ireland, Avaya Stadium, 6.54pm local time/1.54am Irish time
 
Sunday, November 5:

Play-Offs
 
IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS 2017/18 Tournament Schedule –

Oktoberfest 7s, Munich, Germany – September 29-30 (Seventh Place)
Elche 7s, Elche, Spain – October 28-29 (Second Place)
Silicon Valley 7s, San Jose, USA – November 4-5
Dubai 7s, Dubai, UAE – December 1-2
Hong Kong 7s (World Series Repechage), Hong Kong – April 7-8
Amsterdam 7s, Amsterdam, Netherlands – June 9-10
Rugby World Cup Sevens, San Francisco, USA – July 20-22