Irish Rugby | McNulty Aiming To ‘Make Ireland Proud’ As Match Day One Arrives

Ireland Men’s Sevens captain Harry McNulty believes the team are in a good place to challenge for an Olympic medal, following four podium finishes during this season’s HSBC SVNS Series.

The Ireland Men came home with silver from the Singapore Sevens, and also bagged three bronze medals across the campaign. They won their final tournament before the Paris Games, finishing on top at the Rugby Europe Sevens Championship leg in Hamburg.

With a largely settled squad, and seven players having gained experience at the Tokyo Olympics, James Topping’s charges are hoping to hit the ground running later today when they face South Africa and Japan in their opening Pool A matches.

Speaking ahead of their Stade de France opener against the Blitzboks (kick-off 4.30pm Irish time), McNulty said: “For me, what I’m looking for is a continuation from what we’ve been able to do during the year, and a consistency in our performance.

“At this level, this far into the season, you can’t really afford to have one really good game, one poor game, and then you’re coming into the last where it could come down to anything, and then you’re waiting for other teams in other pools to get you to qualify on points difference.

“So, really just having that confidence to play our own game, stick to what we know, stick to what we want to do.

“Then have all of that continuation going through and just build on each performance. That’s all you can really look for.”

The League runners-up in this year’s SVNS Series, Ireland have a positive recent record against both South Africa and Japan. They have beaten South Africa five times out of six this season, including a 19-point comeback in Madrid where Gavin Mullin struck with a late brace.

The South Africans qualified for Paris 2024 via the Repechage route, as Ireland did three years ago, so it will be interesting to see how both sides shape up in an intriguing opening clash. They met at the same stage in Tokyo where a strong second half display saw the Blitzboks prevail 33-14.

Japan have not been part of the World Series since 2023, and Ireland hold the upper hand in this match-up with a 10-1 record. Terry Kennedy has scored nine tries in five games against Japan, including two braces and a hat-trick.

Assessing their day one opponents, McNulty told RTÉ Sport: “Two really good teams. South Africa, I don’t know, we just seem to have come up against them all the time throughout the season, going back and forth. A team that we highly respect, they’re a great side.

“Looking forward to getting a good game in against them. A very physical team. Japan were on the World Series, and we’ve played against them a lot.

“They’re really good at holding onto the ball. It’s very difficult to get it off them, and in Sevens if a team holds onto the ball long enough they’ll break you down because you’re just so tired by the end of it.

“So, we just need to make sure that we have the ball, we’re clinical, build the scoreboard, and then when they have the ball, just work really hard to try and get it back, and just limit their opportunities.”

Away from the serious business of preparing for his second Olympics, the Ireland skipper enjoyed a chance meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in the Olympic Village where they chatted briefly about rugby and Macron’s plans to attend some of the Sevens matches.

There have been some social media highjinks too, with McNulty joined by his leaping team-mate, Jordan Conroy, to test out the theory that the infamous Olympic cardboard beds will collapse if there is more than one person on them.

The much longer lead-in time, with Ireland having qualified by winning the European Games last summer, was topped off by a high-quality training camp in Tours where both the Men’s and Women’s squads readied themselves for what is to come in Paris.

“Settling in very well,” acknowledged the talismanic Bahrain-born forward. “We were in Tours before coming down here and it was an amazing way to just get into France and get training done, kind of get all the hard work done.

“Since we’ve come in here, it’s been quite relaxed. We’ve had training, the Captain’s Run, and the vibe has just been awesome.

“We’ve been looked after so well by Team Ireland. The whole set-up is amazing and we’ve had a lot of fun just making our way around slowly, just enjoying what the Village has to offer. We’re excited for the Games to kick off.”

McNulty pointed out that their time in France before the pool stages start is already longer than they spent at the Tokyo Games. That extra preparation time could be crucial as they look to improve considerably on their 10th place finish from 2021.

“We qualified for Tokyo about a month before, and this time for Paris it was a full year before. I think in total we were in Tokyo for about nine or ten days from when we landed to when we left.

“Played the tournament and Captain’s Run all in between that, whereas we’ve already been in France longer than that now.

“That’s why I think it’s a lot more relaxed and enjoyable, and you just feel like you can go at a certain pace every day, whatever’s needed. It’s a great feeling.”

Asked about the Ireland Men’s Olympic debut three years ago and what they learned from it, he replied: “People always talk about it being very disappointing. I know the results didn’t go our way, but I think us qualifying for the Olympics was nearly our Olympics in itself.

“We were training for nearly two years in Covid, like working from home. We had to bring weights from the gym in the IRFU into our house, we were doing weights in the living room. Running on any pitch that we could find.

“So, the fact that we qualified for it was huge. It’s kind of hard to bounce back again (shortly after qualifying) and go really well. Just one of those things that didn’t go our way.

“I think what we’re going to take away from that is it’s a one-time moment for a lot of the guys. Some guys are coming to their second Olympics, some guys this is their first.

“Just really understanding that nothing’s going to be different. We’re in the same sort of tournaments, playing against the same teams.

“We have had the best season that we’ve ever had as an Irish Sevens team. There’s so much momentum behind us, there’s so much support. Everyone’s loving it, and we get to kick the Olympics off as well. Such a cool opportunity.

“I just think we’re going take away all of that experience that we’ve gained this year through the season – getting those tough wins, working really hard to the last minute, really fighting for everything – and taking that into here is where we need it.”

Getting to captain his country on the Olympic stage will undoubtedly be one of the proudest moments of McNulty’s career. He was a bronze medal winner with the team at the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in South Africa, and reckons they can also prosper in Paris.

“We had four medals this season on the World Series, and I think we left a few medals behind us as well. If that’s anything to go by, from eight tournaments, it’s pretty good.

“Some people don’t understand, every team in the Sevens can beat every team. It’s so highly competitive. It’s amazing and that’s why we love it.

“So, I think, yes, we play our game, of course we can be medal contenders. But we have to be switched on every game and play our game every game,” added the 31-year-old.