Rugby
Ireland sevens Olympic qualification
By Daire Walsh
BILLY Dardis and Terry Kennedy provided the local interest in Monaco last weekend as the Ireland Men’s Sevens side secured Olympic qualification with victory at the World Rugby Repechage.
Anthony Eddy’s charges entered this 10-team tournament knowing they had to win it outright in order to book their spot for next month’s Summer Games in Tokyo. This is exactly what the Green Army managed with pool victories over Zimbabwe, Mexico, Tonga and Samoa being followed by knockout stage triumphs over Hong Kong (semi-final) and France (final).
Since 2017, this squad have been captained by Terenure College RFC star Billy Dardis. A former member of the Leinster Academy, he admitted it was a somewhat surreal experience to have claimed a place at the Olympics.
“It’s really just overwhelmingly weird. It’s a weird feeling, but it’s really special for us as a group. It’s absolutely life-changing. I don’t think it ever will really sink in. I’ve said it to a few guys already. We’ll be 60 years old, sitting in a pub and people will be saying ‘that guys an Olympian for life’. Something that you will have with you,” Dardis remarked from the team’s hotel base on Sunday, shortly after their 28-19 final win over France.
“It’s pretty special. I’m still trying to get around to all the calls, all the texts that I’m getting from people. It’s pretty cool to do something like that for all of them. To hear from all family and friends, and to do something really special.”
It had been a long road up to this point for the Ireland sevens, with their most recent Olympic qualification tournament taking place way back in July 2019 at Colomiers in France. A third-place finish at this Rugby Europe event earned them a spot at the Repechage, which was originally set to take place in Monaco 12 months ago.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic not only put the tournament on hold, but the Olympic Games themselves. While Ireland only returned to competitive sevens action after a year-long absence last month, they didn’t allow rustiness to be a factor.
St Mary’s College ace Kennedy was instrumental throughout the course of the weekend for the Irish, as both a supplier and a finisher. He got the ball rolling in their decider against France with an early try, before Jordan Conroy (two) and Harry McNulty crossed the whitewash in the second half.
Now that he is Tokyo-bound for next month – the men’s section of sevens rugby will run from July 26-28 – Kennedy is ready to challenge for a podium place rather simply being content with qualification.
“We know that, when we do play well, we can take on anyone. I think we’ll play with a bit of freedom over there. Obviously it’s unbelievable, us getting there. The pressure is off a bit. We’ll still put internal pressure on ourselves to do well and know that, if we do perform, we can definitely be pushing towards medals,” Kennedy said.