The quarter-final match-ups have been confirmed at the Olympic Games, following the Ireland Men’s late 14-12 defeat to New Zealand at a packed-out Stade de France.
Well-taken tries from Zac Ward and Jordan Conroy gave Ireland a 12-point half-time lead in the Pool A decider, albeit that Conroy unfortunately had to hobble off soon after.
Leroy Carter cut the gap to five points for New Zealand, but Ireland were left to rue a missed opportunity when Terry Kennedy had a try ruled out from a five-metre tap penalty. In response, Andrew Knewstubb forced a relieving penalty for the top seeds.
Knewstubb went on to have a crucial say for the All Blacks Sevens. He knocked over the match-winning conversion after a lateattacking surge saw Ngarohi McGarvey-Black cross from close range.
The result means James Topping’s side will play defending champions Fiji, who topped Pool C, in a mouth-watering quarter-final at 10pm local time/9pm Irish time (live on RTÉ 2/BBC iPlayer & Red Button/Eurosport 2).
Ireland lost 26-21 to Fiji after extra-time when they met in the pool stages of the HSBC SVNS Grand Final in Madrid last month. They were victorious, though, at both the Perth and Vancouver legs, triumphing 24-7 and 24-19 respectively.
It has been a tightly-contested first half across four of their six meetings this season with scores level or within the margin of a converted try.
Despite Fiji finishing sixth in the SVNS Series standings, four places behind Ireland, their has been impressive in Paris so far with pool wins over Uruguay (40-12), the USA (38-12), and tournament hosts France (19-12).
IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Squad (Olympic Games – Paris 2024, Stade de France, July 24, 25, 27):
Niall Comerford (UCD RFC)
Jordan Conroy (Buccaneers RFC)
Hugo Keenan (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Jack Kelly (Dublin University FC)
Terry Kennedy (St. Mary’s College RFC)
Hugo Lennox (Skerries RFC)
Harry McNulty (UCD RFC) (capt)
Gavin Mullin (UCD RFC)
Chay Mullins (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht/IQ Rugby)
Mark Roche (Lansdowne FC)
Andrew Smith (Clontarf FC/Connacht)
Zac Ward (Ballynahinch RFC)
Travelling Reserves:
Sean Cribbin (Suttonians RFC)
Bryan Mollen (UCD RFC)
IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Schedule – Olympic Games, Paris 2024:
Wednesday, July 24 –
POOL A:
IRELAND 10 SOUTH AFRICA 5, Stade de France
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Jordan Conroy, Terry Kennedy
South Africa: Try: Selvyn Davids
HT: Ireland 5 South Africa 0
Match Report
Match Photos
Time Line: 7+1 minutes – Ireland try: Jordan Conroy – 5-0; conversion: missed by Mark Roche – 5-0; Half-time – Ireland 5 South Africa 0; 11 mins – South Africa yellow card: Ryan Oosthuizen; 12 mins – Ireland try: Terry Kennedy – 10-0; conversion: missed by Hugo Lennox – 10-0; 14 mins – South Africa try: Selvyn Davids – 10-5; conversion: missed by Shaun Williams – 10-5; Full-time – Ireland 10 South Africa 5
Team: Harry McNulty (capt), Niall Comerford, Zac Ward, Mark Roche, Hugo Keenan, Terry Kennedy, Jordan Conroy.
Replacements used: Hugo Lennox for Roche (half-time), Jack Kelly for Ward (8 minutes), Gavin Mullin for Keenan (10), Andrew Smith for Comerford (11), Chay Mullins for Kennedy (14).
IRELAND 40 JAPAN 5, Stade de France
Scorers: Ireland: Tries: Terry Kennedy, Chay Mullins 2, Harry McNulty, Niall Comerford, Zac Ward; Cons: Hugo Lennox 3, Mark Roche 2
Japan: Try: Shotaru Tsuoka
HT: Ireland 14 Japan 0
Match Report
Match Photos
Time Line: 1 minutes – Ireland try: Terry Kennedy – 5-0; conversion: Hugo Lennox – 7-0; 7+1 mins – Ireland try: Chay Mullins – 12-0; conversion: Hugo Lennox – 14-0; Half-time – Ireland 14 Japan 0; 8 mins – Ireland try: Harry McNulty – 19-0; conversion: Hugo Lennox – 21-0; 10 mins – Ireland try: Niall Comerford – 26-0; conversion: missed by Hugo Lennox – 26-0; 12 mins – Ireland try: Chay Mullins – 31-0; conversion: Mark Roche – 33-0; 14 mins – Japan try: Shotaro Tsuoka – 33-5; conversion: missed by Yoshihiro Noguchi – 33-5; 14+1 mins – Ireland try: Chay Mullins – 38-5; conversion: Mark Roche – 40-5; Full-time – Ireland 40 Japan 5
Team: Jack Kelly, Andrew Smith, Harry McNulty (capt), Hugo Lennox, Gavin Mullin, Terry Kennedy, Chay Mullins.
Replacements used: Niall Comerford for Smith, Hugo Keenan for Kennedy (both 9 mins), Zac Ward for Kelly, Mark Roche for Lennox (both 11), Jordan Conroy for McNulty (12).
Thursday, July 25 –
POOL A:
NEW ZEALAND 14 IRELAND 12, Stade de France
Scorers: New Zealand: Tries: Leroy Carter, Ngarohi McGarvey-Black; Cons: Akuila Rokolisoa, Andrew Knewstubb
Ireland: Tries: Zac Ward, Jordan Conroy; Con: Mark Roche
HT: New Zealand 0 Ireland 12
Time Line: 6 minutes – Ireland try: Zac Ward – 5-0; conversion: Mark Roche – 5-0; 7 mins – Ireland try: Jordan Conroy – 12-0; conversion: missed by Mark Roche – 12-0; Half-time – New Zealand 0 Ireland 12; 8 mins – New Zealand try: Leroy Carter – 5-12; conversion: Akuila Rokolisoa – 7-12; 14 mins – New Zealand try: Ngarohi McGarvey-Black – 12-12; conversion: Andrew Knewstubb – 14-12; Full-time – New Zealand 14 Ireland 12
Team: Harry McNulty (capt), Niall Comerford, Zac Ward, Mark Roche, Hugo Keenan, Terry Kennedy, Jordan Conroy.
Replacements used: Chay Mullins for Conroy, Hugo Lennox for Roche (both half-time), Jack Kelly for Ward (8 mins), Gavin Mullin for Kennedy, Andrew Smith for Comerford (both 12).
CUP QUARTER-FINAL:
FIJI (1st, Pool C) v IRELAND (2nd, Pool A), Stade de France, 10pm local time/9pm Irish time
Saturday, July 27 –
RANKING, SEMI-FINAL & MEDAL MATCHES
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