Kenny Try Gives New-Look Ireland Men’s Sevens Squad Their First Win

Josh Kenny struck for a late try to give the Ireland Men’s Sevens team a 19-12 play-off win over the USA, following a difficult run of results at the opening leg of this season’s HSBC SVNS Series in Dubai.

Kenny was one of five SVNS Series debutants included in the Ireland squad (sponsored by TritonLake), as the Men’s Sevens programme enters a transitional period following the Paris Olympics and a number of retirements, the most recent of which was captain Harry McNulty.

Fellow veteran Mark Roche captained the team in Dubai on his 35th SVNS Series tournament appearance – a new record for an Ireland Men’s player – and assistant coach Sam Myers took the coaching reins for the weekend, supported by James Topping.

While results proved hard to come by with an eventual 11th place finish, the Emirates Dubai 7s saw Tadhg Brophy, fresh from his involvement with the Ireland Under-20s, and Rory Woods, who has been recruited from New Zealand, make their Ireland Sevens debuts.

Kenny, James Dillon, and Nicky Greene also got their first taste of SVNS Series action – all five players are aged between 20 and 22 – and Josh Costello and Zac McConnell made their second and third tournament appearances, respectively, on the global circuit.

An extra-time defeat to Great Britain was the first of three pool losses on Saturday, during which experienced half-back Hugo Lennox was sidelined through injury.

However, having lost today’s first play-off game to Kenya, Roche and his team-mates rallied to overcome the USA and gain some momentum to take into next weekend’s second leg in Cape Town.

McConnell, Kenny, Ed Kelly, and Costello scored two tries each during the season opener in the desert, with Old Belvedere flyer Dillon, another of the newcomers, also crossing the whitewash. Jordan Conroy chipped in with his 124th World Series try.

There was a scrappy start to Ireland’s 11th place play-off against the USA. Five minutes in, the USA used a scrum just outside the Irish 22 to open the scoring, Darell Williams crossing out wide after Pita Vi’s initial sidestepping run.

Athletic forward Woods gobbled up an American knock-on to barrel his way into the US 22, and the Irish attack picked up pace with the ball being moved wide and then a couple of switches in midfield.

Bryan Mollen and Kelly tested out the defence before setting up Dillon to run hard, slicing in between Vi and Michael Hand to open his SVNS Series account with an unconverted try to the left of the posts.

The teams were locked level at five points apiece heading into the second half, and Ireland suffered an early blow when lively replacement McConnell had to come off with a shoulder injury.

Vi and Niall Comerford traded turnover penalties, and from the latter one Ireland edged ahead. Costello ran infield off the scrum, linking with Dillon and although a ruck ball squirted loose, Kelly was first to it and dived in under the posts in the 12th minute.

Kelly’s own conversion took Ireland seven points clear, but David Still wasted little time in making it 12-all. He charged over from inside his own half, bouncing off Kelly’s challenge and evading Kenny’s attempted tap tackle for a fine individual score, converted by Vi.

Nonetheless, a miscued restart and a penalty invited Ireland forward via scrum just past the final hooter, and the ever-eager Costello used a sliver of space on the right wing to get within reach of the US 22.

When play moved across to the opposite edge, Kenny did really well to tidy up a scrappy ruck ball and shrug off Lance Williams, breaking down the short side and all the way in behind the posts for the match winner which Brophy converted.

Earlier on, Ireland came up against a resurgent Kenya team that had earned promotion back to the SVNS Series last June. The Kenyans ran France very close and beat South Africa on day one, so a significant challenge awaited.

Ireland fell behind inside the first minute, a pass from McConnell bouncing loose near the Irish posts and Kevin Wekesa got his hands on the ball to score an opportunist seven-pointer.

Conroy showed his class with a superb second-minute response. Attacking just outside the Irish 10-metre line, he used two fends and a dummy to create some space for himself and turned on the afterburners to blaze in behind the posts.

Ireland scrambled well in defence, with Greene digging in at the breakdown to win a relieving penalty near his own line. However, Kenya took a 14-7 lead into the break after Denis Abukuse stretched out of a tackle to score from close range.

Benson Adoyo pounced to put 14 points between the sides in the 10th minute. He got his right boot to the ball, ahead of the covering Kelly, and scooped it up to go in behind the posts.

Roche looked destined for the try-line late on, but was stopped by a high tackle from George Ooro Angeyo which saw him sin-binned. The Ireland skipper had another go at a consolation score, but referee Evan Urruzmendi adjudged that he had been held up.

IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Squad (HSBC SVNS Series – Emirates Dubai 7s, The Sevens Stadium, Dubai, UAE, Saturday, November 30-Sunday, December 1, 2024):

Tadhg Brophy (Lansdowne FC) *
Niall Comerford (UCD RFC)
Jordan Conroy (Buccaneers RFC)
Josh Costello (Shannon RFC)
James Dillon (Old Belvedere RFC)
Nicky Greene (Garryowen FC)
Ed Kelly (Dublin University FC)
Josh Kenny (Ireland Sevens)
Hugo Lennox (Skerries RFC)
Zac McConnell (Ireland Sevens)
Bryan Mollen (Old Belvedere RFC)
Mark Roche (Lansdowne FC) (capt)
Rory Woods (Ireland Sevens) *

* Denotes uncapped player

IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Results – HSBC SVNS Series – Dubai:

Saturday, November 30 –

POOL B:

IRELAND 17 GREAT BRITAIN 22 (after extra-time), The Sevens Stadium, Dubai
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Zac McConnell, Josh Kenny, Ed Kelly; Con: Mark Roche
Great Britain: Tries: Ethan Waddleton, Charlton Kerr, Sunni Jardine, Harry Glover; Con: Tom Burton
HT: Ireland 0 Great Britain 10

Team: Bryan Mollen, Niall Comerford, Nicky Greene, Hugo Lennox (capt), Ed Kelly, Josh Costello, Jordan Conroy.

Replacements used: Mark Roche, James Dillon, Tadhg Brophy, Zac McConnell, Josh Kenny.

IRELAND 14 URUGUAY 26, The Sevens Stadium, Dubai
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Josh Costello 2; Cons: Ed Kelly, Mark Roche
Uruguay: Tries: Mateo Vinals 2, Diego Ardao, Ignacio Alvarez Akiki; Cons: Juan Manuel Tafernaberry, Ignacio Alvarez Akiki, Guillermo Lijtenstein
HT: Ireland 7 Uruguay 12

Team: Bryan Mollen, Niall Comerford, Rory Woods, Mark Roche (capt), Ed Kelly, Josh Costello, Jordan Conroy.

Replacements used: James Dillon, Tadhg Brophy, Zac McConnell, Josh Kenny, Nicky Greene.

ARGENTINA 29 IRELAND 7, The Sevens Stadium, Dubai
Scorers: Argentina: Tries: Santino Zangara 2, Luciano Gonzalez, Facundo Pueyrredon, Gregorio Perez Pardo; Cons: Santiago Vera Feld, Tobias Wade
Ireland: Try: Zac McConnell; Con: Bryan Mollen
HT: Argentina 17 Ireland 0

Team: Josh Kenny, Niall Comerford, Rory Woods, Mark Roche (capt), Ed Kelly, Zac McConnell, Jordan Conroy.

Replacements used: Josh Costello, James Dillon, Tadhg Brophy, Bryan Mollen, Nicky Greene.

Sunday, December 1 –

9TH PLACE SEMI-FINAL:

KENYA 21 IRELAND 7, The Sevens Stadium, Dubai
Scorers: Kenya: Tries: Kevin Wekesa, Denis Abukuse, Benson Adoyo; Cons: Nygel Pettersan Amaitsa 3
Ireland: Try: Jordan Conroy; Con: Ed Kelly
HT: Kenya 14 Ireland 7

Team: Josh Kenny, Niall Comerford, Nicky Greene, Mark Roche (capt), Ed Kelly, Zac McConnell, Jordan Conroy.

Replacements used: Bryan Mollen, Tadhg Brophy, Josh Costello, James Dillon, Rory Woods.

11TH PLACE PLAY-OFF:

USA 12 IRELAND 19, The Sevens Stadium pitch 2, Dubai
Scorers: USA: Tries: Darell Williams, David Still; Con: Pita Vi
Ireland: Tries: James Dillon, Ed Kelly, Joshua Kenny; Cons: Ed Kelly, Tadhg Brophy
HT: Argentina 17 Ireland 0

Team: Bryan Mollen, Niall Comerford, Rory Woods, Tadhg Brophy, Ed Kelly, James Dillon, Jordan Conroy.

Replacements used: Zac McConnell, Josh Costello, Mark Roche (capt), Josh Kenny, Nicky Greene.