James Topping’s side will play in the Olympic quarter-finals this evening.
Murray Kinsella THE CURIOUS CHALLENGE of 7s rugby is that you can be tipping along in fine form with good things happening when a sudden bad bounce of the ball sends you down an altogether different path, one that leads to agony.
They still have one last pool game to play against New Zealand at 3.30pm Irish time today and it’s an important one as the two sides battle it out for top spot in Pool A. Advertisement There’s plenty that can still happen in the other final pool games this afternoon, but topping Pool A is obviously the ideal scenario for Ireland.
Adding to the good vibes on day one was the fact that Ireland head coach James Topping was able to give all 12 members of his squad a start in the opening two games, the relative weakness of Japan giving him the chance to make five changes to his starting side. That’s good for the atmosphere in the squad but also the physical freshness of everyone.
In the scintillating Terry Kennedy, they have the man who was the top try-scorer on the SVSN Series with 31. As we saw again yesterday, it’s difficult to stop the St Mary’s man even when you know what’s coming. The 2022 World Rugby 7s player of the year is invariably at the heart of the best things Ireland do with his searing outside break, rapid footwork, and combative attitude.
This is a settled Ireland squad in which stalwarts like captain Harry McNulty and Mark Roche have been involved since the relaunch of the programme in 2015, while others like Jordan Conroy have also put blood, sweat, and tears into the seven-player code.Even the two recent additions – Hugo Keenan and Andrew Smith – are actually returnees. They both benefited from playing 7s on their journey towards making an impact in 15s rugby. They know this squad well and understand the intricacies of 7s.
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