Wolfhounds Improve One Place At GB7s Tour’s Second Leg
It was another positive day for the Ireland Wolfhounds at the second stage of the GB7s tour. They finished third overall in Coventry, moving up one place from their debut tournament in Edinburgh last week.
A number of new faces made their mark as the young Irish Wolfhounds squad won four of their five games at Broadstreet RFC, bagging 23 tries in all with Ian Fitzpatrick (four), Luke O’Dea and Terry Kennedy (three each) topping the scoring charts.
O’Dea and Ciaran Wardle were the only players involved who saw action seven days ago in Edinburgh, with a large chunk of that squad making the trip to Zenica, Bosnia for this weekend’s Rugby Europe Division C event.
The Wolfhounds opened the pool stages in Coventry with a dominant 29-7 win over Forces Exiles, helped on their way by first half tries from O’Dea, Tadhg Beirne and Dan Goggin.
Substitutes Dave Moore and Eoghan Grace (a member of Ireland’s 2009 RWC Sevens squad) added further scores after the break with Moore converting both. Mike Collins notched the Forces’ only try.
The Wolfhounds matched that five-try tally when they posted a 33-14 victory over England IPF. O’Dea scored his second try of the day, Lansdowne winger Fitzpatrick bagged a brace and Foster Horan and Matthew D’Arcy both opened their accounts.
Co-Optimist from Scotland, the Stage 1 champions, provided the opposition for the Wolfhounds’ final pool fixture, and it was level-pegging at the interval – 12-12.
Ultimately, three second half tries helped the Wolfhounds take the verdict on a 29-19 scoreline, as Exiles duo Alex Kane and Wardle touched down along with Steve Toal-Lennon, Goggin and Kennedy. Alan Bennie and Toal-Lennon kicked a conversion apiece.
The Wolfhounds advanced to the Cup semi-finals as Pool B winners, but an experienced Samurai outfit took the spoils in their last-four clash. They led 21-7 at the break and finished as 26-17 victors.
St. Mary’s youngster Kennedy crossed the whitewash and the in-form O’Dea and Fitzpatrick did likewise. The Wolfhounds produced a gutsy display as they were down to five men at one stage with Grace and Goggin in the sin-bin.
Kennedy, Grace and Fitzpatrick were among the try scorers in the Wolfhounds’ 31-7 triumph over England IPF in the 3rd/4th place play-off. They finished the tournament on a high with Wardle and Kane on the mark too, and Bennie (2) and Toal-Lennon added three conversions between them.
The Apache team won the Coventry leg with a dramatic 17-14 final defeat of Samurai. The GB7s Tour concludes next Saturday when the eight competing teams face off at Parc Eirias in Colwyn Bay, north Wales.
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IRELAND WOLFHOUNDS SEVENS Squad (GB7s Tour – Stage 2, Broadstreet RFC, Coventry, Saturday, June 6):
Matthew D’Arcy (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Ian Fitzpatrick (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Dan Goggin (Young Munster/Munster)
Eoghan Grace (Exiles)
Foster Horan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Dave Moore (Blackrock College/Leinster)
Tadhg Beirne (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Matthew O’Regan (Exiles)
Luke O’Dea (Shannon/Munster)
Steve Toal-Lennon (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Alan Bennie (Clanwilliam/Munster)
Ciaran Wardle (Exiles)
Terry Kennedy (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Alex Kane (Exiles)
2015 GB7s TOUR STAGE 2 – Ireland Results:
Pool B –
Ireland Wolfhounds 29 Forces Exiles 7
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Luke O’Dea, Tadhg Beirne, Dan Goggin, Dave Moore, Eoghan Grace; Cons: Dave Moore 2
Team: Foster Horan, Matthew O’Regan, Tadhg Beirne, Dan Goggin, Alan Bennie, Luke O’Dea, Steve Toal-Lennon.
Subs: Eoghan Grace, Ian Fitzpatrick, Alex Kane, Matthew D’Arcy, Dave Moore, Terry Kennedy, Ciaran Wardle.
Ireland Wolfhounds 33 England IPF 14
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Ian Fitzpatrick 2, Foster Horan, Matthew D’Arcy, Luke O’Dea; Cons: Dave Moore 4
Team: Foster Horan, Eoghan Grace, Matthew O’Regan, Ian Fitzpatrick, Luke O’Dea, Matthew D’Arcy, Dave Moore.
Subs: Tadhg Beirne, Dan Goggin, Alex Kane, Alan Bennie, Terry Kennedy, Ciaran Wardle, Steve Toal-Lennon.
Co-Optimist 19 Ireland Wolfhounds 29
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Steve Toal-Lennon, Alex Kane, Dan Goggin, Terry Kennedy, Ciaran Wardle; Cons: Alan Bennie, Steve Toal-Lennon
Team: Tadhg Beirne, Dan Goggin, Alex Kane, Alan Bennie, Terry Kennedy, Ciaran Wardle, Steve Toal-Lennon.
Subs: Foster Horan, Eoghan Grace, Matthew O’Regan, Ian Fitzpatrick, Luke O’Dea, Matthew D’Arcy, Dave Moore.
Cup Semi-Final: Ireland Wolfhounds 17 Samurai 26
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Terry Kennedy, Luke O’Dea, Ian Fitzpatrick; Con: Dave Moore
Team: Matthew O’Regan, Tadhg Beirne, Dan Goggin, Luke O’Dea, Matthew D’Arcy, Dave Moore, Terry Kennedy.
Subs: Foster Horan, Eoghan Grace, Ian Fitzpatrick, Alex Kane, Alan Bennie, Ciaran Wardle, Steve Toal-Lennon.
3rd/4th Place Play-Off: England IPF 7 Ireland Wolfhounds 31
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Ciaran Wardle, Alex Kane, Terry Kennedy, Eoghan Grace, Ian Fitzpatrick; Cons: Alan Bennie 2, Steve Toal-Lennon
Team: Matthew O’Regan, Ian Fitzpatrick, Alex Kane, Alan Bennie, Terry Kennedy, Ciaran Wardle, Steve Toal-Lennon.
Subs: Foster Horan, Eoghan Grace, Tadhg Beirne, Dan Goggin, Luke O’Dea, Matthew D’Arcy, Dave Moore.