Ireland Men’s And Women’s Sevens Teams To Take Part In RugbyX
Ireland Sevens captains Lucy Mulhall and Billy Dardis are pictured with two of their team-mates, Ashleigh Baxter and Hugo Keenan ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
RugbyX and the IRFU have announced the Ireland Men’s and Women’s Sevens teams as the next confirmed participating teams in RugbyX, the international rugby union tournament which will take place at the O2 in London on Tuesday, October 29, 2019.
RugbyX is a new World Rugby and RFU-approved format which sees international Sevens teams competing in a single-day tournament format.
RugbyX will be played under existing rugby union Laws in respect of foul play and breakdown penalties, but will include some law-trial adaptations in order to encourage simple and fast game-play, including:
5 players per team
Matches to last 10 minutes with no half-time
No lineouts – quick throws to be taken by a substitute from the team in possession
No conversions
Announcing the participation of the Ireland Men’s and Women’s teams, Ben Ryan, Technical Director of RugbyX, said:
RugbyX is bringing world-leading international Sevens rugby teams into Europe’s number one entertainment destination – the O2 Arena – for an adapted form of the game we love. RugbyX will provide new and existing fans with an opportunity to support their national team in a brand new rugby environment.
“The Ireland Sevens teams are in a great moment – the recent qualification by the Men’s squad as one of the core teams for the 2019/20 World Series is a testament to Anthony Eddy, the backroom staff and the players especially after the near miss last year.
“They’ll no doubt be looking to build on this through Tokyo 2020 qualification in the coming months. The Women’s team have now consolidated their position on the World Series circuit and to have them both as part of the event in October is an exciting prospect.”
IRFU Performance Director David Nucifora added:
Anthony and the teams have been making great progress on the pitch over the last few years and RugbyX will provide a fantastic platform to showcase our talents. We always enjoy competing in London and this will be no different.”