The Ireland Sevens squad has been announced for the upcoming Men’s World Rugby Sevens Repechage.
A spot at this year’s Olympics is at stake. Billy Dardis captains an experienced 14-player sevens side with only two uncapped players.
Harry McNulty will extend his cap record of 48 while Gavin Mullen and Aaron Sexton will earn their first caps.
FIXTURES
Eddy‘s side will kick off their campaign against Zimbabwe (Kick-off 9.50am local time/8.50am Irish time) on Saturday, 19 June, before facing Mexico (12.12pm/11.12am) and Tonga (3.24pm/2.24pm) in further Pool A games that day.
Ireland will conclude the Pool stages on Sunday, 20 June against Samoa (1.17pm/12.17pm), with the top two teams from each Pool progressing through to the semi-finals. The final, with a ticket to Tokyo on the line, will take place at 7.07pm local time/6.07pm Irish time on Sunday, 20 June.
Commenting on his selection for Monaco, Eddy said: “I am really happy with the squad, and I must admit there were some really tough decisions as the competition within the squad has been at an all-time high in recent weeks.
“A number of players have been preparing for this tournament and opportunity for a number of years and they all know exactly what is at stake. I know they will be determined to be at their best and put in a performance over the weekend that they can be proud of. All the teams participating are chasing the same outcome so we must be at our best and we are looking forward to it.”
Today’s squad announcement comes as TritonLake, a global investment advisory business, partnering with private market and hedge fund managers in order to bring differentiated alternative investment opportunities to an extensive network of wealth managers, family offices, and other institutional investors, comes on board as title sponsor of the Ireland Men’s and Women’s Sevens teams.
Commenting on the partnership, Conor Smyth, CEO and Founder of TritonLake, said: “We are delighted to announce our partnership with the IRFU, and proud to be the title sponsor of the Ireland Men’s and Women’s Sevens Teams. As TritonLake continues to expand internationally, associating ourselves with a core team on the World Sevens Series provides us with opportunities to build and strengthen relationships around the globe.
“We would also like to take this opportunity to wish the Ireland Men’s Sevens squad the very best of luck in their quest to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games in the upcoming World Rugby Sevens Repechage in Monaco – and we are looking forward to a long and successful relationship on and off the pitch.”
IRFU Director of Commercial and Marketing, Padraig Power, said: “We are delighted to welcome TritonLake to our family of Irish Rugby partners as they become the title sponsor of the Ireland Men’s and Women’s Sevens teams at a really exciting time for the programme.
“As the Ireland Men’s team prepare for next weekend’s World Rugby Sevens Repechage, the support and commitment of TritonLake to the programme is most welcome, and we look forward to a long and successful partnership going forward towards the return of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens.”
Ireland Men’s Sevens Squad:
Jack Kelly (Dublin University)
Harry McNulty (LA Giltinis)
Foster Horan (Lansdowne)
Ian Fitzpatrick (Lansdowne)
Adam Leavy (Lansdowne)
Billy Dardis (Terenure College)
Sean Cribbin (Suttonians)
Hugo Lennox (Skerries)
Gavin Mullin (UCD)
Terry Kennedy (St Mary’s College)
Jordan Conroy (Buccaneers)
Aaron Sexton (Malone/Ulster)
Mark Roche (Lansdowne)
Bryan Mollen (Blackrock College).
Ireland Sevens Schedule, World Rugby Sevens Repechage:
Saturday, 19 June:
Ireland v Zimbabwe, 9.50am local time/8.5oam Irish time
Ireland v Mexico, 12.12pm local time/11.12am Irish time
Ireland v Tonga, 3.24pm local time/2.24pm Irish time
Sunday, 20 June:
Ireland v Samoa, 1.17pm local time/12.17pm Irish time.
The announcement can be viewed here.