The Ireland Men's Sevens team, sponsored by TritonLake, were in dominant form in Zagreb as they won the opening leg of the Rugby Europe Sevens Trophy Series.
James Topping's men defeated a young England side 27-0 in the final to end the weekend with silverware. They scored 43 tries and conceded only two across their six games in the Croatian capital.
Jordan Conroy top scored with 10 tries, including a hat-trick against the English, while Fergus Jemphrey impressed with six. There were five each from Aaron O'Sullivan and Ireland Under-20 Grand Slam winner Chay Mullins.
The men in green began day two with a 36-7 quarter-final win over Israel before putting 52 unanswered points on Hungary. A three-try first half salvo set them on their way in the Cup decider.
The second and final leg of the Rugby Europe Trophy Series takes place in Budapest next weekend as captain Billy Dardis and his team-mates continue to work towards July's Rugby World Cup Sevens European qualifier.
Conroy struck first in this morning's quarter-final clash with Israel, released for the right corner by Sean Cribbin's scooped pass.
Mullins, who used his height well at restarts, broke past halfway to send Matthew McDonald clear for the second try, converted by Dardis.
The Ireland captain used another draw-and-pass to send Ed Kelly over out wide, making it 17-0 in the fourth minute. McDonald then popped up in midfield, handing off a defender to dart in behind the posts.
Israel closed the gap to 24-7 by half-time, with the long-striding Moran Nijem breaking free for a late score, but replacement O'Sullivan scored within two minutes of the restart, winning a turnover penalty and then crashing over from close range.
McDonald made a try-saving tackle on Nijem as Ireland absorbed pressure during O'Sullivan's sin-binning. A late breakaway saw Sean Kearns wrap up a six-try 36-7 success, with lovely hands from Steven Kilgallen and Mullins in the build-up.
Ireland registered four first half tries to take firm control of their semi-final against Hungary. Tom Roche raided over from a few metres out for the opener, Mullins following up with a fine second effort as he deftly sliced in between two defenders.
Kearns converted both and also added the extras to a sixth-minute score from Jemphrey, who surged clear from halfway. Kilgallen's long pass saw Mullins complete his brace as the scoreboard showed 26-0 at the break.
Mullins' chasing back was rewarded when Daniel Brough just ran out of space and Hungary were denied a second try, before a switch move unleashed O'Sullivan to tear downfield and get on the scoresheet.
Despite losing Bryan Mollen to the bin, Ireland used a subsequent penalty to lift the tempo through Cribbin, and O'Sullivan managed to slalom through for his second try, extending the lead to 40 points.
Mollen returned to score from the edge of the Hungarian 22, with Dardis adding his third conversion. The Naas man tagged on a final try - set up a well-timed Kelly pass - to take Ireland passed the half-century mark (52-0).
Opting for a scrum from a penalty inside the opening seconds of the final, the quick ball generated allowed Dardis to put Cribbin over from close range. It remained 5-0 with Dardis flicking his conversion away to the left.
Ireland continued to dictate possession, Harry McNulty carrying strongly on one wing before possession was switched back to the right where McDonald released Conroy to go over untouched - 10-0.
A slippery break from Nwachukwu Moyne had England threatening for the first time, but Topping's charges squeezed in a late third try to lead 15-0 at the turnaround.
Although Nathan Greenwood covered a kick downfield, McNulty's subsequent turnover allowed Mollen to dart out to the right inside the English 22. Conroy went down the short side of the resulting ruck, evading the clutches of Marcus Kershaw to score.
Early on the restart, Ireland pushed further clear as Mollen attacked hard up into the opposition 22 and a neat necklace of passes teed up Conroy to complete his hat-trick. The touchline conversion was expertly landed by Dardis.
Ireland's aggressive defence prevented England from responding, with McNulty doing well to force Paul Brown into touch. Conroy narrowly missed out on a fourth score before a slick offload from Mullins put Jemphrey over from a few metres out.
Ireland Men Win Opening Leg Of Rugby Europe Trophy Series
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12th June 2022
