Scrum half Hugo Lennox scampered over for a first-minute try during the play-off clash with the USA ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
The Ireland Men’s Sevens team will contest the 5th place play-off at the Olympics Games this evening, following a last-gasp 17-14 play-off win over the USA.
When Perry Baker brilliantly jinked through for his sixth try of the tournament, Ireland looked in trouble with a 14-7 deficit to overcome and barely two minutes left on the clock.
Nonetheless, having taken an early lead through Hugo Lennox’s neatly-crafted score, James Topping’s side wrestled back control to floor the Eagles Sevens with a two-try combination.
Mark Roche’s lineout throw to the rear had Zac Ward crashing over with less than 50 seconds left. Roche’s missed conversion left Ireland still trailing, but Niall Comerford put pressure on at the restart to force a crucial penalty.
From the resulting scrum just outside the American 22, the talismanic Terry Kennedy tore out to the left and found a sliver of space between Marcus Tupuola and Lucas Lacamp to run in a magical match winner.
Ireland’s strong finish has earned them a rematch with Pool A rivals New Zealand, whom they lost to on Thursday (14-12). Jordan Conroy has unfortunately been ruled out for the final day, with Sean Cribbin taking his place in the squad.
Captain Harry McNulty and his team-mates will bring the curtain down on their Paris 2024 campaign when they take on the All Blacks Sevens at 5.30pm Irish time, in front a 69,000-strong crowd at the Stade de France.
Speaking after their third victory of the Paris Games, Andrew Smith said: “It’s an unbelievable victory for us. After what happened two days ago, it’s a real testament to the group.
“We were devastated over the last 24 hours and needed a lot to pick ourselves back up, so I can’t fault the group’s effort to pick themselves back up there and put in a really good performance.
“It shows how tight-knit a group we are, and the belief that we have as a group. We just needed to play our own game, believe that that can beat anyone.
“I know it didn’t go quite to plan the other day, but it just shows how good a game-plan it is, the trust we have in it. All credit to the boys.
“(New Zealand next up) is a huge challenge. A massive target for us all the time, so I’m sure we’ll be really looking forward to end the tournament on a high. It’s been unbelievable so far.”
Determined to bounce back from their quarter-final exit, Ireland got off to the flying start this afternoon in wet conditions. Cribbin quickly made an impact, his pass back inside releasing Lennox to speed through a gap and score behind the posts.
The Skerries man, whose initial break had sparked the high-energy opening, also converted. The slippery ball was a factor when Smith was guilty of a forward pass, with Chay Mullins lurking on the left wing.
Both teams regularly applied pressure at the breakdown, and there were counter-rucking gains for both. Kennedy raided downfield from one turnover, with Jack Kelly breaking back into the opposition 22 before the USA counter-rucked successfully.
McNulty responded by winning a penalty from a grounded Orrin Bizer, only for Aaron Cummings to steal the subsequent lineout. The US ended the first half with a levelling try, scored by Cummings who evaded Lennox’s tackle just inside the Irish 22.
Comerford came off the bench to bat back the second half’s opening restart, although Gavin Mullin’s progress was halted by Cummings’ swiftness at the breakdown to earn a penalty.
A bad spell for Ireland saw them fall foul of referee Francisco Gonzalez’s whistle, leaking four penalties in quick succession to suddenly be pinned back inside their own 22.
Vastly-experienced winger Baker seized his chance, slipping past both Comerford and Ward to become the Olympic Men’s Sevens all-time leading try scorer with 10.
Nonetheless, some composed Irish phases with ball in hand drew a penalty, and a terrific touchfinder from Roche had them just five metres out from the try-line.
The US were then caught out by Roche’s lineout throw, setting up Ward to power over for his fourth try of the competition despite tackles from Pita Via and Maka Unufe. The missed conversion from Roche left just two points in it.
However, the Lansdowne clubman nailed his restart, getting the ideal length for Comerford to challenge in the air. The US were caught offside from a knock-on, giving Ireland scrum possession, and Kennedy was unstoppable from an excellent arcing run.
Niall Comerford (UCD RFC)
Jordan Conroy (Buccaneers RFC)
Hugo Keenan (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Jack Kelly (Dublin University FC)
Terry Kennedy (St. Mary’s College RFC)
Hugo Lennox (Skerries RFC)
Harry McNulty (UCD RFC) (capt)
Gavin Mullin (UCD RFC)
Chay Mullins (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht/IQ Rugby)
Mark Roche (Lansdowne FC)
Andrew Smith (Clontarf FC/Connacht)
Zac Ward (Ballynahinch RFC)
Travelling Reserves:
Sean Cribbin (Suttonians RFC)
Bryan Mollen (UCD RFC)
Wednesday, July 24 –
POOL A:
IRELAND 10 SOUTH AFRICA 5, Stade de France
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Jordan Conroy, Terry Kennedy
South Africa: Try: Selvyn Davids
HT: Ireland 5 South Africa 0
Time Line: 7+1 minutes – Ireland try: Jordan Conroy – 5-0; conversion: missed by Mark Roche – 5-0; Half-time – Ireland 5 South Africa 0; 11 mins – South Africa yellow card: Ryan Oosthuizen; 12 mins – Ireland try: Terry Kennedy – 10-0; conversion: missed by Hugo Lennox – 10-0; 14 mins – South Africa try: Selvyn Davids – 10-5; conversion: missed by Shaun Williams – 10-5; Full-time – Ireland 10 South Africa 5
Team: Harry McNulty (capt), Niall Comerford, Zac Ward, Mark Roche, Hugo Keenan, Terry Kennedy, Jordan Conroy.
Replacements used: Hugo Lennox for Roche (half-time), Jack Kelly for Ward (8 minutes), Gavin Mullin for Keenan (10), Andrew Smith for Comerford (11), Chay Mullins for Kennedy (14).
IRELAND 40 JAPAN 5, Stade de France
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Terry Kennedy, Chay Mullins 2, Harry McNulty, Niall Comerford, Zac Ward; Cons: Hugo Lennox 3, Mark Roche 2
Japan: Try: Shotaru Tsuoka
HT: Ireland 14 Japan 0
Time Line: 1 minutes – Ireland try: Terry Kennedy – 5-0; conversion: Hugo Lennox – 7-0; 7+1 mins – Ireland try: Chay Mullins – 12-0; conversion: Hugo Lennox – 14-0; Half-time – Ireland 14 Japan 0; 8 mins – Ireland try: Harry McNulty – 19-0; conversion: Hugo Lennox – 21-0; 10 mins – Ireland try: Niall Comerford – 26-0; conversion: missed by Hugo Lennox – 26-0; 12 mins – Ireland try: Chay Mullins – 31-0; conversion: Mark Roche – 33-0; 14 mins – Japan try: Shotaro Tsuoka – 33-5; conversion: missed by Yoshihiro Noguchi – 33-5; 14+1 mins – Ireland try: Chay Mullins – 38-5; conversion: Mark Roche – 40-5; Full-time – Ireland 40 Japan 5
Team: Jack Kelly, Andrew Smith, Harry McNulty (capt), Hugo Lennox, Gavin Mullin, Terry Kennedy, Chay Mullins.
Replacements used: Niall Comerford for Smith, Hugo Keenan for Kennedy (both 9 mins), Zac Ward for Kelly, Mark Roche for Lennox (both 11), Jordan Conroy for McNulty (12).
Thursday, July 25 –
POOL A:
NEW ZEALAND 14 IRELAND 12, Stade de France
Scorers: New Zealand: Tries: Leroy Carter, Ngarohi McGarvey-Black; Cons: Akuila Rokolisoa, Andrew Knewstubb
Ireland: Tries: Zac Ward, Jordan Conroy; Con: Mark Roche
HT: New Zealand 0 Ireland 12
Time Line: 6 minutes – Ireland try: Zac Ward – 5-0; conversion: Mark Roche – 5-0; 7 mins – Ireland try: Jordan Conroy – 12-0; conversion: missed by Mark Roche – 12-0; Half-time – New Zealand 0 Ireland 12; 8 mins – New Zealand try: Leroy Carter – 5-12; conversion: Akuila Rokolisoa – 7-12; 14 mins – New Zealand try: Ngarohi McGarvey-Black – 12-12; conversion: Andrew Knewstubb – 14-12; Full-time – New Zealand 14 Ireland 12
Team: Harry McNulty (capt), Niall Comerford, Zac Ward, Mark Roche, Hugo Keenan, Terry Kennedy, Jordan Conroy.
Replacements used: Chay Mullins for Conroy, Hugo Lennox for Roche (both half-time), Jack Kelly for Ward (8 mins), Gavin Mullin for Kennedy, Andrew Smith for Comerford (both 12).
CUP QUARTER-FINAL:
FIJI 19 IRELAND 15, Stade de France
Scorers: Fiji: Tries: Iosefo Baleiwairiki, Joji Nasova, Waisea Nacuqu; Cons: Iowane Teba, Terio Tamani Veilawa
Ireland: Tries: Chay Mullins 2, Zac Ward
HT: Fiji 7 Ireland 10
Time Line: 1 minute – Fiji try: Iosefo Baleiwairiki – 5-0; conversion: Iowane Teba – 7-0; 5 mins – Ireland try: Chay Mullins – 7-5; conversion: missed by Mark Roche – 7-5; 7 mins – Ireland try: Chay Mullins – 7-10; conversion: missed by Mark Roche – 7-10; Half-time – Fiji 7 Ireland 10; 9 mins – Ireland try: Zac Ward – 7-15; conversion: missed by Mark Roche – 7-15; 11 mins – Fiji try: Joji Nasova – 12-15; conversion: missed by Joji Nasova – 12-15; 12 mins – Fiji try: Waisea Nacuqu – 17-15; conversion: Terio Tamani Veilava – 19-15; Full-time – Fiji 19 Ireland 15
Team: Harry McNulty (capt), Niall Comerford, Zac Ward, Mark Roche, Gavin Mullin, Terry Kennedy, Chay Mullins.
Replacements used: Jack Kelly for Ward, Hugo Lennox for Roche (both 9 mins), Hugo Keenan for Mullin, Andrew Smith for Mullins (both 12). Not used: Jordan Conroy.
Saturday, July 27 –
5TH PLACE SEMI-FINAL:
IRELAND 17 USA 14, Stade de France
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Hugo Lennox, Zac Ward, Terry Kennedy; Con: Hugo Lennox
USA: Tries: Aaron Cummings, Perry Baker; Cons: Steve Tomasin 2
HT: Ireland 7 USA 7
Time Line: 1 minutes – Ireland try: Hugo Lennox – 5-0; conversion: Hugo Lennox – 7-0; 7 mins – USA try: Aaron Cummings – 7-5; conversion: Steve Tomasin – 7-7; Half-time – Ireland 7 USA 7; 11 mins – USA try: Perry Baker – 7-12; conversion: Steve Tomasin – 7-14; 14 mins – Ireland try: Zac Ward – 12-14; conversion: missed by Mark Roche – 12-14; 14+1 mins – Ireland try: Terry Kennedy – 17-14; conversion: missed by Mark Roche – 17-14; Full-time – Ireland 17 USA 14
Team: Jack Kelly, Andrew Smith, Harry McNulty (capt), Hugo Lennox, Sean Cribbin, Terry Kennedy, Chay Mullins.
Replacements used: Gavin Mullin for Smith, Niall Comerford for Mullins (half-time), Zac Ward for Kelly (8 mins), Mark Roche for Lennox (12), Hugo Keenan for Cribbin (13).
5TH PLACE PLAY-OFF:
NEW ZEALAND v IRELAND, Stade de France, kick-off 6.30pm local time/5.30pm Irish time
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