London 7s Day 2 Action For Ireland
HSBC Rugby Sevens, Twickenham, London, England 20/5/2023 Ireland vs Argentina Ireland's Harry McNulty Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Martin Seras Lima
Ireland finished level on points with Argentina and Fiji in an extremely competitive Pool B but finished third overall on points difference. It was enough to see them through to the cup Quarter Finals and a rematch with Argentina, who stand 2nd in the rankings and finished with a silver medal in Toulouse last week.
You can watch online and follow all the action on the World Rugby website – click here.
Ireland kicked off against Fiji on Saturday morning losing 33-12 with Niall Comerford and Chay Mullins getting on the scoreboard. Match two saw Ireland pile on the points against Japan with a brace from Conor O’Sullivan and further tries from Sean Galvin, Comerford, Zac Ward and Dylan O’Grady giving them a 40-7 win.
The final match in the Pool saw Ireland pull off a significant win against the highly regarded Argentina. Brian Mollen and Ward got on the scoresheet to give Ireland a 14-7 lead at halftime and, despite a strong fight back from Los Pumas, they held on for the win by 14-12.
That result put Ireland into the Cup Quarter final as the best third place finished. Their reward was a rematch with Poll toppers Argentina on Sunday morning.
Argentina scored twice in the first half but a try from Mollen kept Ireland in touch 14-7 at the break. Argentina piled on the pressure in the second half with two more tries, determined to avenge the pool loss and a late Ward try was not enough as Ireland lost 28-14.
Ireland faced Great Britain in the 5th place Semi Final and a 19-12 win put them through to face France for 5th overall.
IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Schedule – HSBC London Sevens
Saturday, May 20 –
Pool B
Ireland Men 12 Fiji 33 – Match Centre
Ireland Men 40 Japan 7 – Match Centre
Ireland Men 14 Argentina 12 – Match Centre
Sunday, May 21 –
Cup Quarter Final
Ireland Men 14 Argentina 28 – Match Centre
Fifth Place Playoff
Ireland Men 19 Great Britain 12 – Match Centre
Ireland 19 France 21 – Match Centre
IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Squad (HSBC London Sevens, Twickenham Stadium, Saturday, May 20 – Sunday, May 21, 2023):
Harry McNulty (UCD RFC) (capt)
Chay Mullins (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht/IQ Rugby)
Zac Ward (Ballynahinch RFC)
Matthew McDonald (IQ Rugby)
Niall Comerford (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Connor O’Sullivan (Lansdowne FC/IQ Rugby)
Billy Dardis (Terenure College RFC)
Hugo Lennox (Skerries RFC)
Sean Cribbin (Suttonians RFC)
Bryan Mollen (UCD RFC)
Gavin Mullin (UCD RFC)
Dylan O’Grady (UCD RFC)
Sean Galvin (Lansdowne FC)