Horan Links Up With Ireland Squad For Canada Sevens

Horan, who was named Intersport Elverys Players’ Player of the Tournament in Hamilton, has returned to fitness and replaces the injured Aaron O’Sullivan in the only change to Eddy’s 13-man panel for the Canada Sevens from Los Angeles.

Billy Dardis once again captains Ireland and is set to hit the 100 point mark in this year’s World Series having brought his tally to 99 in LA, while Jordan Conroy remains the leading try-scorer this campaign with 23 after he crossed six times at the weekend.

Ireland, currently ranked ninth in the overall World Series standings, arrived in Vancouver on Monday evening after making the short trip north from LA and preparations for this weekend’s tournament at the BC Place Stadium will step up a gear on Tuesday.

Drawn in Pool C, Ireland will get their Canada Sevens campaign underway on Saturday morning against European rivals Spain (10.31am local time/6.31pm Irish time) before going head-to-head with Kenya later that afternoon (1.43pm local time/9.43pm Irish time).

Eddy’s side conclude the Pool stages against current World Series leaders New Zealand on Saturday evening (5.35pm local time/1.35am Irish time), with all the action live on Sky Sports throughout the weekend.

Speaking upon the team’s arrival in Vancouver, Eddy, the IRFU Director of Sevens and Women’s Rugby, said: “The Vancouver tournament is another new experience for the squad, and they are looking forward to backing up what was a reasonable result in LA.

“A good performance on day one is crucial and we will be looking for greater consistency in our performance as there are no easy games and all teams want the same prize.”

You can follow all the build-up to the Canada Sevens on IrishRugby.ie and on IRFU social media channels throughout the week.

IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS SQUAD (Canada 7s — Saturday, February 7-Sunday February 8):

Adam Leavy (Lansdowne)
Billy Dardis (Terenure College)(captain)
Bryan Mollen (Blackrock College)
Foster Horan (Lansdowne)
Graham Curtis (Malone/Ulster)
Greg O’Shea (Shannon)
Harry McNulty (UCD)
Hugo Lennox (Skerries)
Jack Kelly (Dublin University)
Jordan Conroy (Buccaneers)
Liam Turner (Dublin University/Leinster)
Mark Roche (Lansdowne)
Terry Kennedy (St. Mary’s College).

CANADA SEVENS IRELAND MEN’S MATCH SCHEDULE:

Pool C:

Saturday, March 7 –

• Ireland v Spain, BC Place Stadium, 10.31am local time/6.31pm Irish time
• Ireland v Kenya, BC Place Stadium, 1.43pm local time/9.43pm Irish time
• Ireland v New Zealand, BC Place Stadium, 5.35pm local time/1.35am +1 Irish time

Sunday, March 8 – 

• Play-Offs/Finals.