The Ireland men’s and women’s squads are both aiming for medals in Paris.
THE WHEEL KEEPS turning, and while Leinster and Munster saw their campaigns come to a crashing halt on Saturday, a busy afternoon at the IRFU’s high performance centre serves as a timely reminder there’s plenty to play for across what’s left in the rugby season.
Hugo Keenan is also on site as he continues his Olympic preparations with the men’s Sevens squad, while on the large indoor pitch, the women’s squad are in the middle of a session, with outgoing IRFU high performance director David Nucifora keeping watch. But it’s amazing for these guys to get a bit of an exposure and recognition at home here in the media as well, because we’ve got what I believe is probably four or five of the best players in the world in our team, and they are guys who have stuck at it.
“Probably my biggest worry was would it disrupt the team dynamic? Would there be a bit of pushback from players?”“I had no doubt around the attitude and the competence of those two players in playing Sevens, but my concern was there had been guys going well this year, we’d made every quarter-final, past that, in the World Series and got lots of medals this year. No golds, unfortunately.
The women’s programme went through a similar talent search, ultimately leading to a different ending. Vikki Wall was a high-profile recruit last summer, with the former Meath GAA and AFWL star making her Sevens debut in January. There was much excitement about Wall’s potential but the 26-year-old didn’t make the final cut for Paris, and was training as usual in Abbotstown yesterday while some of her more fortunate teammates met the media to discuss their Olympic dreams.
Hugo Keenan James Topping Road To Paris Sevens Rugby Vikki Wall
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