Jordan Conroy snapped up six tries as the Ireland Men's Sevens team, sponsored by TritonLake, topped Pool A on the opening day of the Rugby Europe Sevens Trophy Series tournament in Zagreb.
Conroy crossed four times in the 53-0 win over Denmark, there were hat-tricks for Fergus Jemphrey and Harry McNulty against Latvia (48-0), and James Topping's side completed a clean sweep with a 43-7 victory over Romania.
They will return to Stadion NŠC Stjepan Spajić tomorrow morning for their Cup quarter-final against the second best third-place finishers, Israel (kick-off 10.28am Irish time). England and Wales topped the other pools with a trio of wins each.
Returning to European competition for the first time since 2019, Ireland brought a number of their experienced World Series players to the Croatian capital as they build towards July’s Rugby World Cup Sevens European qualifier.
Conroy evaded two defenders to grab the opening try against Denmark from halfway, and the Tullamore man added a quick-fire second after a turnover won by Chay Mullins and an arcing pass from Tom Roche.
Conroy spun the ball wide for Sean Kearns to score and also convert from out wide. Mullins then broke a tackle for a 40-metre run-in.
Out-half Kearns ended the first half with 16 points to his name, his late sidestepping run seeing Ireland take a 31-0 lead into half-time.
Denmark enjoyed some territory before Conroy restarted the scoring with less than three minutes remaining. He crossed in the left corner via replacement Sean Cribbin's quick tap and pass.
Ireland squeezed in three more tries before the finish, a move from a scrum putting Aaron O'Sullivan over before Mullins shrugged off three defenders to complete his brace.
Captain Billy Dardis converted and hit the post with the final kick off the game, following Conroy's fourth touchdown as he punished a Danish handling error to romp clear from inside the Irish half.
A fine solo effort from Jemphrey got Ireland on the board early against Latvia. Cribbin converted and quickly made it 14-0, tagging on a straightforward kick after McNulty had tapped the restart down for Jemphrey to charge clear again.
The IQ Rugby recruit completed his hat-trick following a strong tackle by O'Sullivan close to the Latvian line. Some nice interplay up the right wing between O'Sullivan and Ed Kelly then released the supporting Cribbin to score from 40 metres out.
Kelly raided over straight from the restart to make it 33-0 at the interval, and McNulty added five more points in the 10th minute, set free by Jemphrey's well-timed offload out the back door.
McNulty doubled his tally having combined with replacement Mullins near the left corner, and the same two players linked up for Ireland's eighth and final try when a neat offload out of a tackle saw McNulty register his hat-trick.
Romania seized an early lead in the pool decider, Silviu Mircea chipping through and getting his boot to the ball again, ahead of Kearns, before regathering it to go in behind the posts.
O'Sullivan barged his way over in response, with Matthew McDonald supplying the assist. McNulty moved Ireland ahead in the fifth minute, the Romanian defence stretched by some good width and the jinking runs of Roche.
Sioeli Lama then saw yellow for a high tackle on Kearns, the freshly-introduced Conroy bursting clear of four players to zoom in under the posts. Fellow replacement Dardis converted.
Leading 17-7 at the break, Ireland kicked on with Mullins darting over from McDonald's inviting offload. Dardis converted and also added the extras to Roche's 10th-minute touchdown, set up by a delayed pass from Bryan Mollen.
Introduced off the bench, Jemphrey went over untouched following a turnover penalty won by Cribbin. Conroy made it a seven-try triumph in the end, fending off two defenders to go over from close range and also convert.
All matches are live on Rugby Europe TV here.
Ireland Men Advance As Pool Winners In Zagreb
Home Top News
11th June 2022
