Ireland Sevens Win In Poland

The Ireland Sevens team ran out 24-0 winners over hosts Poland in the FIRA-AER qualifying tournament final in Sopot over the weekend.

This is stage two of the European Sevens circuit and the result keeps Ireland firmly on course to qualify following their narrow defeat to Wales in the stage one final in Odense two weeks ago.

Ireland dominated their pool, winning four out of four matches. They scored a 47-0 win over Denmark in their opening game and then racked up 40 unanswered points against Hungary and Lithuania before beating Sweden 21-0 to ensure top spot.

In the semi-final Ireland beat the Netherlands, who finished second in Pool 2, by a convincing margin of 32-0.

The final against Poland saw the two unbeaten teams go head to head after Poland had knocked out Sweden in the other semi final. Ireland’s 24-0 victory means they notched up a total of 204 points over the weekend and conceded none.

Connacht’s Conor McPhillips was delighted with the win and the manner of it. He said: “We were very pleased not to concede a score over the whole weekend. We set that as one of our targets.

“We said we would concentrate on the defence and not let anything in and we did it, which is a pleasing aspect of the whole thing.”

Next up for the Sevens squad is a trip to Hanover on the weekend of July 12 and 13. The top five teams from this qualifier will earn a place in next year’s IRB Sevens World Cup in Dubai.

IRELAND SEVENS SQUAD (Sopot tournament, Poland):

Richard Briggs (Esher)
Kieran Campbell (Dungannon/Ulster)
Darren Cave (Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
James Coughlan (Dolphin/Munster)
Chris Henry (Malone/Ulster)
Ian Keatley (Clontarf/Leinster)
Seamus Mallon (Ballymena/Ulster)
Andrew Maxwell (Edinburgh)
Conor McPhillips (Galwegians/Connacht)
Brian Tuohy (Cornish Pirates)