Ireland Men Advance To Semi-Final Stage At Makarska Sevens

With Ireland Sevens assistant coach Sam Myers in charge of the squad this weekend, a 17-10 win over Georgia saw them finish top of Pool A alongside Germany, before beating Great Britain 24-7 in this evening’s first knockout round.

Connor O’Sullivan bagged a brace of tries in the first game, taking his tally for the tournament to four, and Garryowen’s Nick Greene, one of three debutants involved, touched down twice against Britain.

With the squad announcement for the Olympic Games drawing ever closer, the opening leg of the Rugby Europe Men’s Sevens Championship presents a number of players with access to game-time and an opportunity to stake their claim for selection for Paris.

Ireland began day two with a repeat of last summer’s Algarve Sevens final, locking horns with Georgia who took an early lead when Giorgi Jobava got free to run in an unconverted try.

Handling errors from both teams kept play inside the Georgian half, before an Irish lineout failed to work out. The Lelos outfit advanced through a scrappy period of play and had a missed drop goal effort from Sergi Chkhaide before half-time.

Hugo Keenan, Hugo Lennox, Zac McConnell, and Josh Costello were all sent on for the start of the second half, and Ireland quickly seized the initiative. Matthew McDonald won a turnover penalty, and the ball was worked wide for Costello to nip over from close range.

Costello was tackled in the air from the restart, allowing the green jerseys to flood forward again, and O’Sullivan cleverly stepped off his left to cut in between two defenders and score from just outside the Georgian 22.

Lennox’s two conversion attempts both missed on the near side, leaving it 10-5. The Skerries clubman was then caught with a late tackle but got his pass away for O’Sullivan to burst through and score from 45 metres out. McDonald’s work at the breakdown had won turnover ball again.

Lennox’s conversion extended the lead to 17-5 with just over two minutes remaining. Ireland misfired at a late lineout, though, allowing Georgia to claim a crucial try to put them through to the last-eight. Luka Alibegashvili crossed from a Ioseb Gusharashvili offload.

Going through to the quarter-finals with a ranking of third behind Belgium and Germany, the men in green hit the front in their quarter-final clash with Britain inside the opening 30 seconds.

The ever-industrious O’Sullivan earned a penalty at the breakdown, Lennox went quickly and Costello fed Greene to step in off his left and score in the corner.

The GB outfit edged ahead by the third-minute mark, as Sunni Jardine led a break up into the Irish 22. Possession was retained through a few phases, before Api Bavadra’s offload sent Ollie Dawkins in behind the posts.

Jordan Edmunds carried hard for Britain to make it back into try-scoring range, but Andrew Smith’s well-timed tackle forced a knock-on from Jardine. Ireland duly lifted the tempo and stretched the opposition defence, gaining a second try in the process.

Keenan gobbled up the metres and then got on the end of a line of passes, freeing up Greene for a textbook one-handed touchdown in the corner despite Marcus Kershaw’s tackle. Lennox crisply converted from the touchline to make it 12-7.

Just as Britain attacked from a penalty from deep, Kershaw knocked on a pass. The loose ball was scooped up at pace by Zac McConnell who went over untouched from the edge of the GB 22. Ten points was the difference at the break.

Britain had a good spell of possession from the restart, but Ireland’s defence, aided by the fresh legs of McDonald and captain Bryan Mollen, stood firm. Greene also stole a lineout and put pressure on at the breakdown.

James Dillon’s pace led an attack that brought play back into the British 22, and despite being penalised at a scrum, Ireland managed to squeeze in a last-minute try. Ed Kelly won turnover ball, and Costello broke away from the ruck for a classy finish.

After Lennox lofted over a peach of a conversion, a slight knock-on from the restart prevented Dillon from getting on the scoresheet in the dying seconds. Ireland return to action tomorrow against the Germans (kick-off 1.04pm local time/12.04pm Irish time – live on www.rugbyeurope.tv).

IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Squad (2024 Rugby Europe Men’s Sevens Championship Leg 1 – Makarska Sevens, City Sports Centre, Makarska, Croatia, Friday, June 7-Sunday, June 9, 2024):

Josh Costello (Shannon RFC)
James Dillon (Dublin University FC) *
Nick Greene (Garryowen FC) *
Hugo Keenan (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Jack Kelly (Dublin University FC)
Ed Kelly (Dublin University (FC)
JJ Kenny (Ireland Sevens) *
Hugo Lennox (Skerries RFC)
Zac McConnell (Ireland Sevens)
Matthew McDonald (Ireland Sevens)
Bryan Mollen (UCD RFC) (capt)
Connor O’Sullivan (Lansdowne FC)
Andrew Smith (Clontarf FC/Connacht)

* Denotes uncapped player

IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Schedule – Makarska Sevens, Rugby Europe Sevens Championship Leg 1:

Friday, June 7 –

POOL A:

IRELAND 42 CROATIA 0, City Sports Centre, Makarska
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Zac McConnell 2, Connor O’Sullivan, James Dillon, JJ Kenny; Cons: Ed Kelly 5, Bryan Mollen
Croatia: –
HT: Ireland 21 Croatia 0

Watch Match Replay

Team: Nick Greene, Connor O’Sullivan, Matthew McDonald, Ed Kelly, Bryan Mollen (capt), Zac McConnell, Josh Costello.

Replacements used: James Dillon, JJ Kenny, Andrew Smith. Not used: Hugo Lennox.

IRELAND 12 GERMANY 12, City Sports Centre, Makarska
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Nick Greene, Connor O’Sullivan; Con: Ed Kelly
Germany: Tries: Ben Ellermann, Jakob Dipper; Con: Niklas Koch
HT: Ireland 12 Germany 5

Watch Match Replay

Team: Nick Greene, Andrew Smith, Matthew McDonald, Ed Kelly, Bryan Mollen (capt), Zac McConnell, Josh Costello.

Replacements used: Connor O’Sullivan, James Dillon, JJ Kenny.

Day 1 Round-Up: Debutants Contribute Tries For Ireland Men In Makarska

Saturday, June 8 –

POOL A:

IRELAND 17 GEORGIA 10, City Sports Centre, Makarska
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Josh Costello, Connor O’Sullivan 2; Con: Hugo Lennox
Georgia: Tries: Giorgi Jobava, Luka Alibegashvili
HT: Ireland 0 Georgia 5

Watch Match Replay

Team: Nick Greene, Connor O’Sullivan, Matthew McDonald, Ed Kelly, Bryan Mollen (capt), James Dillon, JJ Kenny.

Replacements used: Hugo Keenan, Josh Costello, Zac McConnell, Hugo Lennox, Andrew Smith.

CUP QUARTER-FINAL:

IRELAND 24 GREAT BRITAIN 7, City Sports Centre, Makarska
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Nick Greene 2, Zac McConnell, Josh Costello; Cons: Hugo Lennox 2
Great Britain: Try: Ollie Dawkins; Con: Sunni Jardine
HT: Ireland 17 Great Britain 7

Watch Match Replay

Team: Nick Greene, Connor O’Sullivan, Andrew Smith, Hugo Lennox, Hugo Keenan, Zac McConnell, Josh Costello.

Replacements used: Matthew McDonald, Ed Kelly, Bryan Mollen (capt), James Dillon, JJ Kenny.

Sunday, June 9 –

CUP SEMI-FINAL:

GERMANY v IRELAND, City Sports Centre, Makarska, kick-off 1.04pm local time/12.04pm Irish time