Historic Quarter-Final Success Has Ireland Men Hungry For More

Part of the headline act on day two of the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the Ireland Men dealt with the 10.33pm local time kick-off admirably as they ground hosts South Africa into submission.

Ireland’s early lead in Cape Town was erased by a Muller du Plessis try, but second half scores from outstanding forward Harry McNulty and the ever-dangerous Jordan Conroy (2) had James Topping’s side out of sight.

The 24-14 victory marks a significant scalp for Ireland (sponsored by TritonLake), who had only beaten the Blitzboks once before, during the Toulouse leg of this year’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

Speaking to Irish Rugby TV afterwards, Terry Kennedy said: “To do it in front of a packed house in Cape Town, (it’s) unbelievable. We just had a huge amount of belief in the group, we spoke about it.

“We had a day-and-a-half to prepare for that game and I think it showed our preparation really worked there. The way we worked for each other, I think it was going to be very difficult to beat us.

“It’s a huge game (the semi-final against New Zealand) tomorrow. That was always the pinnacle we set ourselves, playing in the first match yesterday and One more to go until the final.”