Ireland Men’s Sevens Squad Depart For LA

The Ireland Men’s Sevens squad, sponsored by TritonLake, touched down in Los Angeles last night ahead of this weekend’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series action.

James Topping‘s side resume their 2023 campaign on American soil, as the Men’s Series rolls into Dignity Health Sports Park in LA (25-26 February).

The sixth leg of the 2023 Men’s Series marks the start of the final race for Olympic qualification, with the top four teams in the overall standings securing their ticket for Paris 2024. LA, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Singapore, Toulouse and London are the remaining stops.

Ireland currently sit in ninth place in the World Series, but just 10 points separates them and fourth-place France with Topping’s side targeting a big performance in LA this weekend to ignite their qualification bid.

There is a settled look to the Ireland squad for the first of back-to-back tournaments in LA and Vancouver, with former Ireland U20 international Dylan O’Grady the only uncapped player in the 13-player travelling party.

Ireland open their LA Sevens campaign against Uruguay on Saturday (11.27am local time/7.27pm Irish time), before further Pool B clashes against Canada (2.40pm local time/10.40pm Irish time) and South Africa (7.03pm local time/3.03am Irish time) at the home of LA Galaxy.

All the World Series action is available to watch live here.

Meanwhile, an Ireland Invitational side will for the first time compete in the LA Sevens Invitational Tournament on Friday and Saturday as Topping looks to expose his wider squad to game time ahead of a crucial few months.

The likes of Sean Cribbin, Ed Kelly, Tom Roche and Zac Ward all have World Series experience and will be among those hoping to push their case for selection when they line out for the Ireland Invitational side across two days of action in Southern California.

IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Squad (HSBC LA Sevens, Dignity Health Sports Park, Los Angeles, America, February 25-26, 2023):

Niall Comerford (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Jordan Conroy  (Buccaneers RFC)
Billy Dardis (Terenure College RFC)
Jack Kelly (Dublin University FC)
Hugo Lennox (Skerries RFC)
Matt McDonald (IQ Rugby)
Liam McNamara (IQ Rugby)
Harry McNulty (UCD RFC)
Bryan Mollen (UCD RFC)
Dylan O’Grady (UCD RFC)
Aaron O’Sullivan (UCD RFC)
Mark Roche (Lansdowne FC)
Andrew Smith (Clontarf FC/Leinster)

IRELAND SEVENS Schedule – LA Sevens:

Ireland Men’s Invitational Sevens:

Sean Cribbin, Sion Cowdy, Sean Galvin, Will Goddard, Nick Greene, Fergus Jemphrey, Ed Kelly, Aitzol King, Connor O’Sullivan, Tom Roche, Stephen Ryan, Zac Ward.