Men’s Sevens Programme Making Progress
The newly launched Men’s Sevens programme was in full swing last weekend with another screening camp offering aspiring players a chance to show their ability.
Back in January over 400 players were tested at a series of IRFU Men’s Sevens Talent Identification Days in all four provinces.
From that initial group the numbers were whittled down to the 45 who took part in a further screening day on the back pitch at the Aviva Stadium last weekend.
Last Saturday’s session involved a series of matches to assess the skill levels of the players that made it through the initial testing phase.
Irish Rugby TV caught up with Anthony Eddy, Director of Sevens and Women’s Rugby, on the day to see how the TID process is going.
There will be further screening days and camps with players coming in from the Exiles screening and also the four provincial Academies being added to the mix.
This will culminate in an Ireland squad to play in the Rugby Europe Men’s Division C in Bosnia in June. Ireland are in Pool B alongside Belarus, Turkey and Montenegro. They need to finish in the top four of the 12-team competition to progress to Division B in Zagreb, Croatia on June 20th and 21st.
The highest-ranked team in Division B then qualifies for the European Olympic Repechage Tournament on July 25-26, the winners of which secure a place in the 2016 Rio Olympics.