Captain Billy Dardis runs in his second half try during Ireland's fifth place semi-final victory over Canada at the recent London Sevens tournament ©INPHO/World Rugby/KLC Fotos/Mike Lee
The Ireland Men’s Sevens squad has been named for the first leg of Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series, which takes place this weekend in Moscow. The defending European champions will be captained by Terenure College’s Billy Dardis.
The Ireland men secured qualification for next season’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Hong Kong back in April. They recently took part in the final two legs of this season’s series as an invitational team.
They secured a sixth place finish at the London Sevens where they capped three new players – Jack Daly, Jack Kelly and Peter Sullivan – and went on to finish in the top ten at the Paris Sevens thanks to wins over England, Scotland and Australia.
This weekend’s competition in Moscow will serve as the seeding round for the European Olympic qualifying tournament which takes place in Colomiers on July 13-14. The winning team in Colomiers will gain a place at Tokyo 2020, while the second and third-placed sides will go to the Global Repechage, which will take place next year and will serve as the final route to Olympic qualification.
With Ireland facing France, Italy and Romania in Pool A on Saturday, Anthony Eddy, the IRFU Director of Sevens Rugby, said:
With the Olympic qualifying tournament drawing closer, this weekend marks the first real step to the weekend in Colomiers. The squad got valuable experience in London and Paris earlier this month, with several of them experiencing the World Series for the first time.
“The players are all aware of what is ahead of them over the next couple of tournaments, and with Moscow determining the seedings for Colomiers, it is a very important tournament for us.”
Live streaming of the games on Saturday and Sunday will be available via www.rugbyeurope.eu/moscow-sevens-grand-prix-2019. The full fixtures list and pools can be viewed here on the Rugby Europe website.
Jordan Conroy (Buccaneers)
Jack Daly (Garryowen/Munster)
Shane Daly (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Billy Dardis (Terenure College) (capt)
Ian Fitzpatrick (Lansdowne)
Jack Kelly (Dublin University/Leinster)
Terry Kennedy (St. Mary’s College)
Adam Leavy (Lansdowne)
Hugo Lennox (Clontarf)
Harry McNulty (UCD)
Bryan Mollen (Blackrock College)
Greg O’Shea (Shannon)
Mark Roche (Blackrock College)
Saturday, June 22 –
POOL A:
Ireland v Romania, Slava Stadium, 11am local time/9am Irish time
Ireland v Italy, Slava Stadium, 1.45pm local time/11.45am Irish time
Ireland v France, Slava Stadium, 4.30pm local time/2.30pm Irish time
Sunday, June 23 –
Play-Offs & Finals
June 22-23: Moscow, Russia – Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series First Leg
July 13-14: Colomiers, France – Rugby Europe Sevens Olympic Qualifying Tournament
July 20-21: Lodz, Poland – Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series Second Leg
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