The 'give it a crack' Terry Kennedy warning for Ireland's SVNS rivals
Watch out Dubai. Terry Kennedy is back and in mischievous form after a short break from the sevens circuit where he was so clinical that he was crowned World Rugby men’s player of the year for 2022. A whopping 50 tries he bagged that season for Ireland, repeatedly running defenders ragged and leaving them confused as to how the flip you stop the serial scorer.
Another 50 this time round, Terry? “I’ll give it a crack,” he smiled, ominously telling RugbyPass that he is mad keen to get back at it full-time following a truncated 2022/23 campaign where he hot-footed it down to Sydney to try out life in the real world away from rugby.
With his only planned interruption being the in-person collection of his world player award in Monaco, sevens wasn’t supposed to be part of his living abroad routine while working in the private equity space in Australia. However, he couldn’t help himself when the ‘give us a dig-out’ call came from home.
Taking up the story, he explained: “I did a stint down in Sydney in Australia where I was working full-time, ended up playing with the lads in Sydney and Hamilton in January, and then joined back with the squad in May ahead of the Olympic qualifier. Thankfully we got the job done there, had a bit of a summer break and then we have had a long enough pre-season now leading into Dubai.
“I was working with Triton Lake, the team sponsor. Working with them for over two years now, and it was brilliant, the first time I lived abroad. You get to travel a lot with the sevens but living somewhere else is different. It was really good, a great experience for me and it gave me that fresh mentality to come back in with.
View this post on Instagram
“I went down the end of September (2022) and had a little bit of a break, still keeping myself fit and then I found out I was going to be playing with the lads in January, so over December I was working hard doing all the running sessions that the S&C do here in Dublin to make sure I was fit enough to join in with them.
“The running sessions put you in good nick but there is nothing quite like match fitness and thankfully I had a bit of time with them in New Zealand beforehand. I then ended up picking up a slight injury with my wrist. I was meant to play a bit of 15s down there in Sydney but it didn’t materialise because of that and by the time I was back from that, it was nearly time to come back for the Olympic qualifier.”
With Games progress secured in Krakow, Paris next July is the salubrious destination for Ireland once they complete the revamped HSBC SVNS Series which culminates in a hopefully spectacular grand final weekend in Madrid from May 31. It’s quite the reward for Kennedy, in particular, given his rugby career could have taken a very different path.
The son of a former Ireland international who was capped in the early 1980s, he was part of the Ireland U20s squad featuring the likes of James Ryan, Hugo Keenan and Jacob Stockdale that reached the 2016 Junior Championship final against England in Manchester.
Induction to the famed Leinster academy soon followed but rather than gallop along a path that could have seen him involved in this weekend’s hugely attractive URC derby versus Munster at Aviva Stadium, Kennedy is instead packing his bags for a two-week trip taking in Dubai and Cape Town, the first two legs in the newly reimagined eight-leg HSBC SVNS Series.
What gives? “I played a little bit of the sevens in 2015 and then was between sevens and 20s in 2016, played that World Cup in Manchester and when I came back I joined the Leinster academy for a couple of years but predominantly spent most of the time playing sevens,” he explained.
“I just really enjoyed the sevens, loved what we were doing here. For most guys, the 15s route is the one they want to go down but sevens for me was what I enjoyed the most and I was delighted to go down that route.
“I just love one, the travel, and two, the type of game, that expansive running game, working really hard for each other. The fast-paced game, the travel, getting to play around the world was something that really appealed to me.”
View this post on Instagram
Ireland are now the real deal, becoming an elite circuit team in 2019 and enjoying a best-ever fifth-place finish in 2021/22 before reaching the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup Sevens in Cape Town. The 27-year-old Kennedy, though, knows what it is like away from the glitz, having spent his early years in the code grafting with way fewer resources at numerous lower-profile events.
“We were kind of part-time, training in the evenings sometimes because some of the lads were at work, in college, so it was different,” he recalled. “But we still got some really good trips out of it and travelled the world.
“We did a few mad trips. Went to Stellenbosch to train in South Africa; I loved that. Dubai was always a good trip, even though we were playing in the invitational tournament. Then we had a mad trip to Uruguay and Chile, so that was interesting. I actually joked that I thought it was similar to Spain and Portugal, but it was much further away.
“We had a good time, but it was just different. You were probably not as well looked after as now on the series where you have everything pretty much sorted for you. You’d run into some funny problems, but we had some great memories from those trips.
“It was about working hard because you knew you had a goal [the HSBC circuit]. We didn’t make it in 2018 when we tried to qualify, had to wait a full year to do it again, and then thankfully we got the job done in 2019 and that brought us onto the series full-time.”
What does the Ireland squad do to while away the long hours abroad when they are not playing or training? “There’s not too many bookworms, we play a lot of cards. That’s our way of keeping busy. The card shark is Mark Roche. We have a few games… of late there has been a bit of blackjack and things like that. We have good fun doing it.”
Let's get this party started! ?
The pools have been announced for the first stop on the brand new #HSBCSVNS?
#HSBCSVNSDXB | @Dubai7s pic.twitter.com/h7w69C0RsG
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) November 7, 2023
The more streamlined 2023/24 season will see fewer windows for fun, a revamp that is no bad thing in the eyes of the ambitious Kennedy. “We very much enjoy the weeks away and you train hard but at this stage, the tournament is the be-all and end-all, it’s what we are to there to do.
“We will enjoy things going on in the background but ultimately, we have one goal. We really need to push our standards and push for those medals consistently because that gives you the best foot forward when it does come around to the Olympics – and we are targeting those medals.
“It will be great. A shorter season in terms of tournaments, there are only eight, all double-headers. It will be great growing both sides of the game, especially with the Olympics coming up, and most of the places we have been before.
“Perth is a new one, but we are excited. Madrid will be brilliant for the grand finale. Talking to a few of the Spanish lads, they are hoping that with a bit of promotion, they can get a really good crowd out there and the stadium looks incredible too.
“For sure, we have a really strong squad this year and it is all made up of guys who have been here a year, two years minimum, where everyone knows their role really well, knows all the details and it makes a lot of difference.
“It means when we go out, we have that cohesion. There is plenty of competition for places and we are pushing each other, training has been really good. Hopefully, the squad for Dubai can put the best foot forward.”
- Click here for all the details about the new-season HSBC SVNS Series
Comments on RugbyPass
Amazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
1 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
1 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
1 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
2 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
1 Go to comments