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Ireland Sevens win in Monaco to secure last ditch qualification for Olympics

By Kim Ekin
GettyImages-1324568122

Ireland have secured victory at the World Rugby Sevens Repechage in Monaco this evening, making history by securing qualification for this summer’s Olympic Games for the very first time.

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Anthony Eddy’s side booked their ticket to Tokyo by beating France 28-19 in the Monaco 7s final at Stade Louis II, and will next month become the first Irish Rugby team to compete at the Games.

France, Hong Kong, Ireland and Samoa were all in contention in the men’s repechage going into the final day, but it was the Irish who produced the shock result to take home the tournament and win a place in the Olympics.

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In a thrilling men’s final showcasing the very best of rugby sevens, Ireland’s Terry Kennedy opened the scoring early, but Ireland were required to recover from a 12-7 half-time deficit to secure their place at the Olympic Games for the first time. Jordan Conroy scored a pair of second-half tries, while Harry McNulty added a fourth that put the seal on a 28-19 victory.

“It’s just bizarre,” Ireland captain Billy Dardis said. “You dream of doing something really special, and that’s playing rugby. It’s incredible what we’ve done just over a number of years. It’s absolutely incredible.”

Ireland’s Conroy finished as the men’s tournament’s top try scorer with 11 tries and was delighted at the prospect of becoming an Olympian, “It’s an absolute dream come true to beat France and go to the Olympics, you don’t get to call yourself an Olympian every day.”

The IRFU said on their website: “It is yet another indelible moment for this squad under the tutelage of IRFU Director of Sevens and Women’s Rugby Eddy, with the Ireland Men’s Sevens now set to become the first Irish Rugby team to compete at the Olympics, in what will be the second staging of the Sevens competition following its introduction in Rio 2016.

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“For the core of the squad – captain Billy Dardis, Jordan Conroy, Terry Kennedy, Harry McNulty, Foster Horan, Ian Fitzpatrick, Mark Roche and Bryan Mollen – qualification for sport’s showpiece event is the culmination of six years of hard work, and a major moment for the National Sevens programme.”

The Olympic Men’s Rugby Sevens competition will take place from 26-28 July, with all the action taking place at Tokyo Stadium, which hosted the opening match of Rugby World Cup 2019.

France and Russia’s women also book their tickets to Tokyo with victories in the qualifier finals.

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Trevor 2 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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