The Ireland Men’s Sevens team qualified for next year’s Paris Olympics with a superb 26-12 victory over Team GB at the European Games qualifier in Krakow.
James Topping’s Irish side reserved their best performance of the tournament for the final and a brace of tries from Jordan Conroy and one apiece for Billy Dardis and Terry Kennedy gave them a deserved win and a direct passage to their second Olympics in succession.
They will now join the Ireland Women’s Sevens team in Paris next summer, the latter having qualified through the World Series. Ireland finished 10th in Tokyo two years ago but will get a chance to expunge a memory that many of the players classed as hugely disappointing.
Ireland scored the first try of the game through Billy Dardis, following an extra counter-ruck, led by Zac Ward, who made the original tackle. Britain responded though with a breakaway try from Glyn Williams, both tries converted, but a yellow card for Scot Robbie Fergusson gave Ireland a one-man advantage in first-half injury time and 2022 World Sevens Player of the Year Terry Kennedy capitalised with a stunning individual try.
Dardis once again converted, and Ireland led 14-7 at the interval. Conroy couldn’t escape the cover in a footrace down the touchline but from the ensuing Irish lineout, his team worked some space for him, and he squeezed over in the far corner. Mark Roche kicked a wonderful touchline conversion to push Ireland out to 21-7 with two minutes remaining.
And with 30 seconds remaining Conroy grabbed a second, Kennedy drawing in a couple of tacklers and giving his close friend and team-mate the half a metre he required to cruise over. Britain grabbed a late consolation try in injury time but Irish eyes were already smiling on the pitch and in the stand where they were roared home by a vocal group of supporters.
Ireland join hosts France, the four teams who claimed places with a top four finish in last season’s World Series, champions New Zealand, Argentina, the reigning Olympic title holders Fiji and Australia, while Uruguay also secured a place when triumphing in the South American qualification tournament.
Ireland beat Portugal 24-0 earlier in the day, a brace of tries from Dardis, both of which he converted, gave Topping’s side a 14-0 lead at halftime after a sluggish start to the game. Further tries from Ward and Conroy in the second half ensured relatively serene progress to the final. Britain beat Spain in the other semi-final 19-7 despite conceding the opening try of the match.
Eight of the current squad, Dardis, Conroy, Jack Kelly, Kennedy, captain Harry McNulty, Bryan Mollen, Gavin Mullin and Mark Roche, represented Ireland at the Tokyo Olympics two years ago.
On that occasion Anthony Eddy’s side won the Monaco Sevens, a tournament that was used as the World Rugby Repechage qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics a couple of weeks before travelling to Japan, coming up trumps in Monte Carlo in a tournament in which they beat Zimbabwe, Mexico, Tonga, Samoa, Hong Kong and France, the latter in the final.
This time they have a year to prepare.
Ireland squad: Jordan Conroy (Buccaneers), Niall Comerford (UCD/Leinster), Billy Dardis (Terenure College), Jack Kelly (Dublin University), Terry Kennedy (St Mary’s College), Liam McNamara (IQ Rugby), Harry McNulty (UCD), Bryan Mollen (Lansdowne), Gavin Mullin (UCD), Dylan O’Grady (UCD), Mark Roche (Lansdowne), Andrew Smith (Clontarf/Connacht), Zac Ward (Ballynahinch).
