Ireland beat All Blacks Sevens for only second time ever on SVNS Series

HSBC SVNS Series stars from Ireland and New Zealand rubbed shoulders on Sunday evening, only moments after going to battle at Singapore’s National Stadium. As they took countless selfies with fans and signed autographs, it was hard not to notice how happy the Irish were.

Ireland had just walked off the field after beating the All Blacks Sevens for only the second time on the SVNS Series. At the end of a tough regular season, which saw a new-look Irish squad struggle on the circuit, the men in green had plenty to smile about.

They had just beaten New Zealand 21-19.

Ireland had only beaten the New Zealanders once before, and that was at Cape Town’s DHL Stadium in December, 2023.

LA’s Dignity Health Sports Park will host the World Championship and SVNS Series playoffs on May 3-4. Don’t miss out – buy your tickets HERE.

After starting the two-day tournament with a 10-point loss to eventual finalists Kenya and a 26-19 win over defending Series champions France, Ireland were smashed 27-5 by Uruguay in the first fifth-place semi-final.

That result relegated the Irish to a battle for seventh, where they would take on Tomasi Cama’s All Blacks Sevens who had suffered a shock loss to Great Britain. In their final regular season match, Ireland searched for their first win over New Zealand in almost 18 months.

Ireland’s Zac McConnell and Dylan O’Grady (double) led the charge, while Sione Molia (double) and Frank Vaenuku helped get New Zealand on the board. Successful conversions was the difference, with Andrew Knewstubb missing one while Ed Kelly nailed all three.

“It’s been a tough season,” Roche told RugbyPass.

“To finish off the league with a win against New Zealand, it’s massive.

“We’ve always been chasing it. It’s great for the confidence.”

After five events, Ireland sat second-last on the overall Men’s SVNS Series standings. They beat the USA in Dubai to finish second-last before other bottom-two finishes in Cape Town, Perth and Vancouver.

Ireland showed signs of promise last at the Hong Kong Sevens with a much-improved outing and that upwards trend continued late in the round-robin. Their seventh-place finish in Singapore won’t see them rise into the top eight overall, but it’s a positive.

The Irish join Kenya, Uruguay and the USA in the bottom four. Those four sides will take on the top four teams from the second-tier Challenger Series in play-off matches at Los Angeles’s Dignity Health Sports Park on May 3-4.

“Everyone can see about us is we’ve grown in the whole competition,” Roche reflected.

“We’ve just gotten better and better.”

Meanwhile, the top eight consisting of Argentina, Fiji, Spain, South Africa, France, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain will contest the winner-takes-all World Championship. The winning side from the LA event will be crowned overall SVNS Series champions.

The All Blacks Sevens have done enough to qualify, but they’ll desperately seek improvement after a quarter-final exit in Hong Kong China and an eight-place finish in Singapore. After a ninth-place finish in Perth as well, the New Zealanders will want to raise the bar when it counts.

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