Two 12-player squads arrived in Dubai on Tuesday ahead of three days of tournament action at The Sevens Stadium, joining the Ireland Men’s and Women’s Sevens teams, who are finalising their preparations for the second leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series season this weekend.
Coached by former Ireland international Kevin Maggs, the Ireland Men’s Development squad includes Ireland Under-20 players Josh O’Connor and Chay Mullins, while Munster winger Conor Phillips and Sean Kearns, who featured for Ireland at World Series tournaments in Canada in September, are also named.
Ireland Men will open their campaign against Georgia on Thursday (2.20pm local time/10.20am Irish time).
Three players who were involved in Ireland’s recent Autumn Test win over Japan at the RDS have been selected for Ireland Women, with this tournament providing young players in the wider Sevens squad with an invaluable exposure to high-level competition.
Newly-capped flanker Maeve Óg O’Leary celebrates with her team-mates following Ireland’s 20-10 victory over the USA ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Enya Breen, Maeve Og O’Leary and Ella Roberts are part of Katie Fitzhenry‘s squad for the tournament, with the likes of Vicky Elms Kinlan, Aoife Wafer and Katie Whelan all hoping to impress having been standout performers for Leinster in the U18 Inter-Provincial Championships.
Ireland Women face CSKA first up on Thursday (2.40pm local time/10.40am Irish time), before further Pool clashes against Russia and Belgium later in the day.