Ireland Kick Off Olympic Challenge With Victory Over South Africa

The Ireland Men’s Sevens team kicked off their Olympic Games campaign in encouraging fashion, beating South Africa 10-5 in a fiercely-contested Pool A opener at the Stade de France.

The Ireland Men, the first of the Team Ireland athletes in action in Paris, led 5-0 at the break thanks to a late score from Jordan Conroy.

They exerted some sustained pressure on the South African defence during the first half, with Terry Kennedy going close with a kick through, and a knock-on also denied Conroy in another try-scoring opportunity.

Ireland Sevens – Where To Watch The Olympic Games

Capitalising on a Ryan Oosthuizen yellow card, Kennedy dashed clear down the blindside for Ireland’s second try with 12 minutes on the clock.

A late fightback from the Blitzboks was not enough, despite a score from their captain Selvyn Davids, as Ireland put their first victory of Paris 2024 on the board.

James Topping’s side close out day one with a game against Japan at 9pm local time/8pn Irish time, with live coverage on RTÉ 2/BBC iPlayer & Red Button/Eurosport 2.