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Ireland Kick Off Olympic Challenge With Victory Over South Africa

Ireland Kick Off Olympic Challenge With Victory Over South Africa

The Ireland Men’s Sevens team kicked off their Olympic Games campaign in encouraging fashion, beating South Africa 10-5 in a fiercely-contested Pool A opener at the Stade de France.

The Ireland Men, the first of the Team Ireland athletes in action in Paris, led 5-0 at the break thanks to a late score from Jordan Conroy.

They exerted some sustained pressure on the South African defence during the first half, with Terry Kennedy going close with a kick through, and a knock-on also denied Conroy in another try-scoring opportunity.

Ireland Sevens – Where To Watch The Olympic Games

Capitalising on a Ryan Oosthuizen yellow card, Kennedy dashed clear down the blindside for Ireland’s second try with 12 minutes on the clock.

A late fightback from the Blitzboks was not enough, despite a score from their captain Selvyn Davids, as Ireland put their first victory of Paris 2024 on the board.

James Topping’s side close out day one with a game against Japan at 9pm local time/8pn Irish time, with live coverage on RTÉ 2/BBC iPlayer & Red Button/Eurosport 2.