The Ireland Sevens will play at the World Rugby Sevens Repechage in Monaco this weekend.
The national side will be competing to earn a spot at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
The tournament will take place from June 19th to June 20th in Stade Louis II.
Head coach Anthony Eddy selected a 14-man squad for the tournament that is filled with experience.
He spoke about his selections after the announcement on Friday.
📋 The Ireland squad for next week's 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗥𝘂𝗴𝗯𝘆 𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗴𝗲 has been named, with Anthony Eddy announcing an experienced 14-player panel for Monaco 🙌🟢
Full details: https://t.co/S9QJn3n1JK#IrishRugby #ShoulderToShoulder @TritonLake pic.twitter.com/kzyL4Ksu33
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) June 11, 2021
Ireland’s most-capped sevens player Harry McNulty will return to the side.
La Giltinis, McNulty’s club, granted the Major League Rugby player the opportunity to play international level sevens this summer.
McNulty comes back into a side that has been through the highs and lows of recent years together.
Billy Dardis captains the side once again as he tries to take the team to the Olympics.
Furthermore, two uncapped players are part of the squad.
Gavin Mullin and Aaron Sexton will earn their first caps this weekend after being with the squad for an extended period.
Eddy also picked top try-scorer Jordan Conroy.
The Tullamore speedster will be a dangerous offensive weapon for the Irish and will want to extend his try-scoring record.
The outstanding Terry Kennedy is also part of the 14-man squad.
Anthony Eddy’s side will begin the tournament in Pool A alongside Samoa, Tonga, Zimbabwe and Mexico, per Irish Rugby.
The team will play Zimbabwe, Tonga and Mexico on June 19th and Samoa on June 20th.
Games beyond the group stage will also take place on June 20th.
Every side in Pool A will be gunning for their first appearance at the Olympic games.
Sevens heavyweights Samoa is the toughest challenge in Pool A for Anthony Eddy’s side on paper.
The Samoans came closer than Ireland to qualification in 2016 but fell to the same foe in Spain at the final hurdle.
They will want to right the wrongs of 2016 and reach the Olympics for the first time.
Led by the legendary Brian Lima, the side will be hungry for success after a year out.
France provides competition for the Irish if they are to get through the pool stage.
The France national sevens team has already played at the Olympic level in 2016 and will want to do so again.
Jérôme Daret will want to take his side to Tokyo this summer.
Ireland may have to get past Daret’s side if they are to reach their goal.
Olympic qualification would be a massive achievement for the Irish sevens programme, but can it be done?
