O’Shea had been part of the IRFU Sevens programme since 2017 and has built a relationship with the core of the squad in his four years there.

The former Crescent College student was part of a side that became a core team in the World Series and reached the Olympic Games for the first time ever.

O’Shea cited several reasons including injuries and future ventures in his YouTube video on the topic.

An announcement on his Instagram reads: “My life has always been focused around my rugby career, so it has been a really difficult decision for me to decide to retire from the game I love.

“It just feels like the right time for me to close that chapter of my life, especially after reaching my goal of becoming an Olympian and with everything else I want to do outside of rugby.”

The 26-year-old noted in his video on the topic that Sevens players in Ireland are not paid enough for it to be a viable career – he would stay in it if it was so.

The former Love Island contestant started playing rugby at Shannon RFC when he was seven.

At Crescent College, the rugby player won two Junior Cups in 2010 and 2011 and added a Munster Senior Cup to the tally in 2013.

O’Shea played in the back three in 15s and was part of the Munster academy before joining the country’s sevens programme.

In his four years with the national sevens side, he participated in a World Cup in 2018, took part in Rugby Europe tournaments and played in the World Series, as well as the Olympics.

O’Shea spoke of his Olympic dream being realised before the side jetted off to Tokyo in July.

The Limerick native said: “It’s the pinnacle of sport. Personally, it’s what I’ve been working towards the last couple of years. I said no to a lot of other opportunities outside of rugby and it’s would make it all worth it once I cross that whitewash.”

The post Ireland Sevens’ Greg O’Shea Announces Retirement appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

James Topping’s side had previously finished at the summit of their pool for the second tournament in a row but failed to reach the final four, finishing eighth overall.

The two losses on the second day saw the side finish the competition in sixth behind champions South Africa, runners-up Great Britain, Kenya, Canada and the United States.

Winger Jordan Conroy became the first Irishman to score 50 tries in the World Series after scores in four games of the tournament.

Conroy managed this feat in just 10 World Series events, averaging five tries per event to reach the half-century.

Ireland began the tournament strongly with two wins a draw in their pool for the second week running sealing the top spot once again.

A late Niall Comerford try gave the side the win against Germany, while Jamaica suffered a second successive defeat to the boys in green.

A 12-12 draw with Great Britain was enough to finish first in the group and earn a match-up with Canada on Day Two.

Ireland led the hosts until a late try from the Canucks gave them the opportunity to kick for the win, which they did.

The USA kept Topping’s side scoreless in a 19-0 rout in the fifth-place semi-finals and another late concession against Hong Kong saw the side finish eighth, ultimately disappointing after a strong first day.

The six points they earned at Edmonton was enough to keep the side in the top six of the overall World Series table, edging out Germany by four after they had taken fifth place at the tournament.

Ireland will now look to the 2022 season following the climax of a year in which the side broke new ground, making the Olympics and reaching a World Series semi-final.

Ireland Squad – Edmonton 7s

Niall Comerford (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Jordan Conroy (Buccaneers RFC)
Chris Cosgrave (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Sean Cribbin (Suttonians RFC)
Billy Dardis (Terenure College RFC)
Shane Jennings (Buccaneers RFC/Connacht)
Sean Kearns (Ireland Sevens)
Steven Kilgallen (UCD RFC)
Bryan Mollen (Blackrock College RFC) (capt)
Ben Moxham (Ballymena RFC/Ulster)
Aaron O’Sullivan (Blackrock College RFC/Leinster)
Conor Phillips (Young Munster RFC/Munster)
Liam Turner (Dublin University FC/Leinster)

The post Ireland 7s Star Conroy Scores 50th WS Try But Team Falls Short appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

IRFU Director of Sevens Rugby, Anthony Eddy,  has today named a 13-player squad for Ireland’s return to HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series action, as the 2021 season prepares to get up and running at BC Place, Vancouver this weekend.

Eddy will use the upcoming tournaments in Canada to explore the depth of his Ireland Men’s Sevens squad as players are given the opportunity to stake a claim on the World Series stage.

Three Olympians are named in the squad – Bryan Mollen, Mark Roche and Gavin Mullin – with Mollen set to captain the squad.

Ireland will face Great Britain and invitational sides Hong Kong and Jamaica in Pool B in Vancouver from September 18-19 – Play-offs are scheduled for September 19.

Liam Turner and Seán Cribbin also add experience to the squad, with Turner having racked up 16 appearances on last year’s World Series.

Ireland U20 stars Shane Jennings, Chris Cosgrave and Ben Moxham will work with the sevens setup for the upcoming tournaments.

Moxham, along with Conor Phillips of Munster and Ed Kelly – the younger brother of Olympian Jack – have been part of the National Sevens programme for the last 12 months.

They featured during the IRFU HPC International 7s tournament in June, with the back-to-back tournaments in Canada presenting them with the platform to showcase their talents at the start of a new Olympic cycle.

Commenting on his selection, Eddy said: “It is great to have the HSBC World Series back up and running and expose some new players to the quality of this competition.

“The Canada tournaments provide a great opportunity for some players to put their hand up for future tournaments and the 2022 Series.

“We have some experience in the group and also players new to the World Series, so I am keen to see how some of the new players perform in this environment.”

Ireland will open their HSBC Canada Sevens campaign against Hong Kong on Saturday 18th September (5:44 pm Irish time), before going head-to-head with Jamaica (8:55 pm) and Great Britain (12:28 am) later in the day.

The Vancouver tournament will be followed by a second HSBC Canada Sevens event in Edmonton the following weekend, on 25th-26th September. The two rounds in Canada form the 2021 Series, with the Series title awarded in Edmonton.

Ireland Men’s 7s Squad For Vancouver & Edmonton

Niall Comerford (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Chris Cosgrave (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Seán Cribbin (Suttonians)
Shane Jennings (Buccaneers RFC/Connacht)
Sean Kearns (Irish Sevens)
Ed Kelly (Dublin University)
Steven Kilgallen (UCD RFC)
Bryan Mollen (Blackrock College)(Captain)
Ben Moxham (Ballymena/Ulster)
Gavin Mullin (UCD RFC)
Conor Phillips (Young Munster/Munster)
Mark Roche (Lansdowne)
Liam Turner (Dublin University/Leinster)

The post Ireland Name Men’s Sevens Squad For Canadian World Series Fixtures appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The USA moved from side to side to spread the Irish defensive line thin and enjoyed the lion’s share of the early possession.

Perry Baker got the first score of the game under the posts after dodging Ireland captain Billy Dardis’ tackle just two minutes in with Madison Hughes converting.

Ireland suffered a disastrous restart after their pod could not recover the ball and it fell for Hughes who made no mistake and dotted down for a second.

The number 10 could not make add the extra two this time around.

The States’ Danny Barrett proved to be a huge ball-carrying threat and constantly pushed the Irish line backwards.

A rare Irish possession was squandered after Hugo Lennox failed to release outside the American 22.

Lennox made up for his error with a lovely catch after an offload from Foster Horan to get Ireland’s first points.

Dardis could not get his conversion between the posts, leaving his side 12-5 down at the break.

An inventive Irish lineout led to a fascinating passage of play that finished with Terry Kennedy inviting Sevens ‘original’ Harry McNulty to get Ireland’s second try of the game.

Billy Dardis missed his second chance to put an extra two on the board and Ireland failed to go level as a result.

A huge carry from forward Brett Thompson opened the Irish defence up once again and Stephen Tomasin added the nation’s third and also scored the conversion.

Jack Kelly’s injury may have been a factor in Thompson’s huge carry.

Ireland found themselves in the American 22 but a poor lineout spelt the end of the game for Anthony Eddy’s men.

Foster Horan got the try he deserved after some strong carries but it was too little, too late.

The side now has a mountain to climb if they are to progress to the quarter-finals, with Kenya the final obstacle for the national sevens side on Tuesday, July 27th at 3 am.

The post Ireland Lose Second Successive Game At Olympics v USA appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Leavy is part of a conveyor belt of talent over at St Michaels that includes Kelly, his brother Dan Leavy and James Ryan.

The school’s list of past Olympians includes a rower and a tennis player and the 25-year-old is honoured to put his name amongst theirs.

“Myself and Jack Kelly will be the third and fourth Olympians that have gone through the school which is amazing – it’s an amazing title to have to my name,” said Leavy.

The Sevens star could have crafted an Olympic career out of shot-putting but became more involved with rugby instead as he grew up.

He feels that the Ireland side’s chemistry will help them throughout their Olympic campaign.

The squad includes five ‘originals’ and many others that have been involved for several years.

“[The programme] has only been together for six years or so now, a lot of us have been in it since the start. I would have joined back in 2017 so there’s a huge amount of gelling in the squad and the connection will definitely stand to us.”

The tight-knit and accepting group will compete in their first Olympic Games in Tokyo this year.

Their hard work over the years paid off in June when they beat France in June at the Stade Louis II in Monaco to book their spot in Japan.

“Monaco was a crazy, crazy experience. Personally, all the emotions kind of hit me at once. I think I broke down at one stage – my brother was slagging me saying the hayfever was at me.”

Qualification was this Ireland side’s main focus since initially missing out in 2019 and to achieve it without their families there annoyed the former St Michael’s student.

Their families will not be able to get over to Tokyo either but Leavy understands that the restrictions are for the best.

On top of the games that lie ahead, against South Africa and the USA, Leavy is prepared for the downtime that this Ireland side will have.

“I have a few anime things on the hard drive, [I’ll] get involved with the culture and learn a bit of Japanese while I’m at it.”

The group will be able to keep each other company, as they have done many times before, perhaps through anime nights courtesy of Leavy.

Their chemistry can help them on and off the pitch as it has shown to do in the past.

With the side constantly improving, they can only go forwards at the Olympics, no matter how they do.

“[Our relationships are] definitely going to stand to us in a big way when we’re in the troughs.”

Ireland face the USA in the second round of pool games on Monday, July 26th at 10:30 am.

The post Ireland 7s’ Adam Leavy Joins List of St Michael’s Olympians appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Anthony Eddy‘s squad are currently finalising their preparations for a maiden Olympics campaign in Tokyo.

As excitement builds for the start of the Rugby 7s competition on Monday 26 July, a huge opportunity awaits for Irish Rugby and the shortened format of the game in Ireland.

The realisation of their Olympic Dream promises to be a watershed moment for Irish Sevens Rugby, elevating the players, sport and programme to a whole new level in front of a global audience.

“The Ireland Men’s Sevens team qualifying for the Olympics is a huge opportunity for us to be able to build a sustainable pathway for Sevens Rugby in Ireland,” IRFU Performance Director, David Nucifora, says.

“The interest that the Olympics will bring gives us the opportunity to be able to grow the game of Sevens throughout the country.”

The IRFU want to ensure that there is a clear pathway for young children to get into Sevens rugby.

Sevens is an accessible sport for all ages and the value of Sevens programmes and competitions in schools and colleges and Age-Grade Interprovincial Structures cannot be underestimated with Irish Rugby fully aligned and committed to ensuring Tokyo 2020 is truly a watershed moment for the sport in Ireland.

“The opportunity created by the Men’s Sevens being in the Olympics enables us to be able to connect the Domestic Participation part of the game for young boys and girls to be able to see an opportunity to follow their Olympic Dreams,” Nucifora continues.

“Our ambition is to be able to make the game of Sevens a sustainable game within its own right, with the ambition of qualifying our Men’s and Women’s teams for the 2024 and 2028 Games in Paris and LA and our Men’s and Women’s U18s teams for the 2026 Youth Olympics in Dakar.”

For Nucifora, the goal is clear: to build a pathway that connects the Participation and Domestic components of the game with the High Performance Programmes.

This will enable young boys and girls to play the sport in their school and club, granting them access to selection for Provincial teams, National Underage squads and then the National Sevens squads, leading them into Olympic Games opportunities in the future.

“We’re focused on leaving a legacy as a result of the team’s qualification for Tokyo,” he says.

“We want to build a Participation Pathway for the game of Sevens through the schools and clubs to open up the sport to non-traditional areas and players. It is a true pathway for a rugby player and we’re striving to get the development part of it right and truly open up the game for all and make it as accessible as possible. We’ll see the grow game in Ireland off the back of that.

“Tokyo is on our mind right now but looking towards Paris, it is only a three year turnaround and our ambition is to be there with both our Men’s and Women’s teams. We’re hugely excited for what’s ahead and know we can achieve all of these goals and ambitions in the years ahead.”

The post IRFU Want To ‘Leave a Legacy’ In 7s Programme appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The sides will play in the tournament from July 26th to July 28th – the pool stage will take place from July 26th to July 27th.

The men’s competition will be held before the Women’s Olympic Sevens tournament gets underway in a reverse to the schedule from the Rio Olympic games in 2016.

The men’s draw split the 12 teams into three pools of four.

POOLS ANNOUNCEMENT

Mouthwatering match-ups in the early stages of the men's competition

The countdown to #Tokyo2020 is #HowWeSevens pic.twitter.com/BNsWcJGMi9

— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) June 28, 2021

Pool A involves bookies’ favourite New Zealand, Australia, Argentina and South Korea.

The former pair will renew their historic rivalry at the Olympics, making it the perfect opportunity for current Rugby World Cup Sevens and World Series champions New Zealand to make a statement in the pool stages.

Argentina will want to improve on their respectable sixth-placed finish at Rio 2016 with an impressive outing in Tokyo.

South Korea round off Pool A and will take part in Olympic Sevens for the first time in its history after winning the Asian qualification tournament with an extra-time ‘golden-point’ try to overcome Hong Kong.

Pool B includes Fiji, Great Britain, Japan and Canada.

Reigning Olympic champions Fiji will want to assert themselves early but face a tough task to do so in Pool B.

Great Britain will want revenge for their 43-7 defeat in the 2016 Olympic Sevens final at the hands of the champions and the draw has given them an opportunity to do that early.

The pair are joined by hosts Japan who will want to get a medal on home soil after their fourth-placed finish in Rio saw them miss out on one.

Another Olympic debutant Canada is the fourth team in this tough group and will have a lot to prove as a result.

The final pool – Pool C – includes Ireland, the USA, South Africa and Kenya.

Ireland are the last of the three Olympic debutants in Tokyo and face some tough challenges in the United States, South Africa and Kenya.

Anthony Eddy’s side beat 2016 quarter-finalists France to reach Tokyo.

The United States come in as third-favourites to win the Men’s Olympic Sevens tournament this summer and will be tough for opponents to handle.

Rio 2016 Bronze medalists South Africa will want to go at least one game further in the competition this summer.

Kenya failed to get out of their group in 2016 but have grown in the five years since and will pose a threat to the other three teams in the pool.

The draw makes for an exciting tournament in late July.

You can read the Irish Rugby announcement here.

The post 7s: Full Olympic Draw appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

They were created with the Olympics in mind after it was announced that the sport would become an Olympic sport in Rio in 2016.

The project only gained steam in 2014 after the announcement in 2009 with the men’s sevens program introduced in October of that year.

It’s first Director of Rugby was announced in December – New Zealander Anthony Eddy, who is still there today.

The IRFU then scouted talents from Ireland who were interested in joining the program and recruited those that they took a liking to.

The 27-man squad announced in May 2015 became known as ‘The Originals’ and included British and Irish Lion Tadhg Beirne was part of the squad alongside Connacht star Alex Wootton.

#LionsRugby

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗟𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

Congratulations to Tadhg Beirne on his selection for the 2021 @lionsofficial Tour to South Africa! #TeamOfUs #IrishRugby #ShoulderToShoulder pic.twitter.com/BsLV6ztS95

— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) May 6, 2021

Other players have stayed in the program – Terry Kennedy is still the star fullback for the side and has a fantastic link with winger Jordan Conroy.

Ireland Men’s Sevens’ most-capped player of all-time Harry McNulty is an original and Foster Horan has been there from the start as well as Ian Fitzpatrick and Mark Roche.

The side started out in Rugby Europe’s Division C, playing against the likes of Liechtenstein and San Marino.

The team climbed up the ranks over time and took part in the 2015 Rugby Europe Olympic Sevens Repechage tournament where they finished third and earned a spot in the 2016 Monaco Repechage.

A spot at the inaugural Olympic Sevens tournament was up for grabs.

However, they fell short in the knockout stages but have grown exponentially since then.

Players that have shaped the core of the 2020 side became important members of the team as the side grew.

Current captain Billy Dardis became a part of the squad prior to the Olympic qualification disappointment and Jordan Conroy made notable contributions in 2017.

The aforementioned originals that are still a part of the squad began to develop chemistry with the players coming, having already bonded themselves.

Their win in Moscow marked the first tournament win for the program and underlined the progress those working on it had made since its inception.

A win over Spain in the final was a perfect example of this, after their loss to Spain in Monaco the year previous.

2018 and 2019 saw the side take part in the two final events on the 2018-19 World Rugby Sevens Series and finish sixth in the 2018 Rugby Sevens World Cup in their first appearance at the tournament.

Their impressive season saw them earn the ‘core team’ status for the 2019-20 season after their performance at the Hong Kong Sevens qualifier.

At the time, they were impressing neutrals with their energy and individual qualities.

Jordan Conroy was blazing a trail that he is still on with his blistering pace helping him to get past defences with ease.

Dardis and Harry McNulty were leaders in the side and led by example with their work-rates always at a high level.

However, the side were knocked out of the semi-finals of the 2019 Rugby Europe Sevens Olympic Qualifying tournament after a loss to France.

The loss left them with one final chance – the 2020 Monaco Repechage.

They had to succeed where they had fallen several years prior.

Before they could, the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the world and Sevens as a sport was put on pause.

The players, who had grown as a team together, were now separated against their will and forced to work by themselves.

The period of time spent in lockdown was a struggle for several in the side but they pulled through and were back together in 2021 with a shared goal in mind – becoming Olympians.

They trained hard and the team named for the tournament was filled with players who were familiar with each other.

Harry McNulty, who had left Ireland to join Major League Rugby side LA Giltinis was part of the 14-man squad.

His club allowed him to return temporarily to chase the Olympic dream that he had wanted to make a reality for so long.

The team had developed a wonderful rhythm that they unleashed in Monaco.

On the first day, Zimbabwe, Mexico and Tonga were beaten convincingly by the Irish with the telekinetic duo of Terry Kennedy and Jordan Conroy nabbing 14 tries between themselves and providing some easy-on-the-eye moments.

#Ireland7s

If you’re looking for us, we'll be off watching the 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗶𝘁𝘀 from a memorable weekend in Monaco on repeat! #ShoulderToShoulder #IrishRugby #TokyoOlympics @TritonLake

pic.twitter.com/MdzD22Skia

— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) June 21, 2021

The side breezed past Samoa in the final pool game to qualify for the semi-finals as pool winners.

At the end of the day, they were in the final, one step from the promised land.

Ireland started the better of the two sides with Jordan Conroy making his presence known immediately.

However, Stephan Parez helped a France side looking for their second successive Olympic appearance get back into the game and Les Bleus led at the break.

A quickfire double courtesy of some Conroy-Kennedy magic swung momentum back in Ireland’s favour.

Originals member Harry McNulty sealed the deal after Dardis regained possession and passed to the veteran,who dotted down across the line.

A late France try served only to cushion the hurt of missing out on Olympic qualification, but for the Irish, the dream became a reality.

For Anthony Eddy, Harry McNulty and many others, it was the reward of years of hard work in the program.

They will forever be known as Ireland’s first Olympic rugby team.

That achievement is nothing short of what they deserve.

The Ireland Men’s Sevens side will take part in the Olympics Sevens tournament from July 26th – July 28th.

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