Ireland Men’s Sevens Squad Selected For Dubai 7s Invitational
The Ireland Men’s Sevens squad to travel to Dubai next week for the Dubai 7s Invitational tournament has been announced.
The side features nine players who helped Ireland to win the Bowl title at the recent Silicon Valley 7s. Will Connors, captain Billy Dardis, Ian Fitzpatrick, Harry McNulty, Bryan Mollen, John O’Donnell, Greg O’Shea and Mark Roche were all involved in that inaugural tournament Stateside at the beginning of November.
Terry Kennedy (pictured below), who also featured in San Jose, is lining out at the Dubai tournament for the third year in a row – the only player in the squad to do so.
Hugo Keenan, Alex McHenry and Jimmy O’Brien come back into the squad for Dubai. Ireland are drawn into Pool C with Germany, France Development and Old Georgians RFC.
Alongside Ireland’s pool opponents Germany and France Development, the Dubai 7s Invitational features several other international sides, including the likes of Georgia, Zambia, England Development (Royals), the South African 7s Academy and the Canada Maple Leafs.
Speaking about the squad and the trip to Dubai, IRFU Director of Sevens Rugby, Anthony Eddy, said: “We’ve named a strong side to travel out to Dubai for the Invitational tournament, and the players that have been selected have all played against top international teams already this season at the likes of the Oktoberfest 7s and the Silicon Valley 7s.
“With the likes of Germany and the French development side in our pool, it’s set to be a challenging opening day and will be another good test for the players as we continue to build towards the Hong Kong Repechage next April.”
The Dubai 7s Invitational tournament takes place on December 1 and 2 at the Sevens Stadium in Dubai.
The Dubai Rugby Sevens, which takes place over three days (November 30 to December 2) is expected to welcome over 100,000 fans over the three days with many coming in fancy dress and enjoying the Rugby Village and sporting action all weekend long. Tickets for the Dubai Rugby Sevens can be purchased online at www.dubairugby7s.com.
IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Squad (Dubai 7s Invitational Tournament, The Sevens Stadium, Dubai, Friday, December 1-Saturday, December 2):
Will Connors (UCD/Leinster)
Billy Dardis (UCD) (capt)
Ian Fitzpatrick (Lansdowne/Leinster)
High Keenan (UCD/Leinster)
Terry Kennedy (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Alex McHenry (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Harry McNulty (UCD)
Bryan Mollen (Dublin University)
Jimmy O’Brien (UCD/Leinster)
John O’Donnell (Lansdowne)
Greg O’Shea (Shannon)
Mark Roche (Blackrock College)
IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS FIXTURES – DUBAI 7s INVITATIONAL:
Friday, December 1 –
Pool C:
Ireland v Germany, 3.40pm local time/11.40am Irish time
Old Georgians RFC v Ireland, 7.06pm local time/3.06pm Irish time
Ireland v Franc e Development, 9pm local time/5pm Irish time
Saturday, December 2 –
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 (Runners-Up)
Silicon Valley 7s, San Jose, USA – November 4-5 (Bowl Champions)
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