FOLLOWING AN extended spell away from the programme, Terry Kennedy is glad to be back in the saddle as the Ireland Men’s Sevens team get their Olympic year underway in Dubai this weekend.

In the aftermath of being named World Rugby Men’s Sevens Player of the Year in 2022, the St Mary’s College man opted to take an extended break from a set-up that he had been a part of since 2015.

During his hiatus, Kennedy lived in Australia and worked for Triton Lake — a global investment advisory business that are also the title sponsors for the Ireland Sevens.

However, he did play for James Topping’s squad in tournaments held in Hamilton, New Zealand and Sydney in January of this year and is now officially back on board as a centrally contracted player ahead of next summer’s Olympic Games in Paris. Before then, Kennedy will have his sights set on another productive campaign in the new HSBC SVNS Series.

The opening leg of this Series takes place over the next two days in Dubai for both the Ireland Men’s and Women’s Sevens, with the former down to face Australia, Spain and Argentina in Pool B games tomorrow.

“I was in Australia working for Triton Lake. I was working with them beforehand alongside the Sevens and then went full-time. It was always something I wanted to do, have a stint abroad,” Kennedy remarked at a recent Ireland Sevens media day.

“There’s never a perfect time, but I kind of got that out of my system. Definitely came back with a new energy and a fresh mentality. I’m really enjoying being back in here again. Really enjoyed the pre-season of working hard in here and looking forward to the season ahead.”

Back on 20 June, 2021, Kennedy was a key figure on the first Irish rugby side to secure qualification for the Summer Olympics. After winning a final repechage tournament in Monaco in advance of the delayed games in Tokyo, the Dubliner and his international colleagues had just 36 days to prepare for their Olympic debut against South Africa at Tokyo Stadium.

They will have a much bigger lead-in time on this occasion, with the Irish men having sealed their passage to a second successive Olympics in June — a little over a month after the Ireland Women’s Sevens qualified for the summer games for the very first time. Kennedy believes this will be a massive help as they look to improve on their 10th-place finish in Tokyo.

“I think it makes a big difference. Obviously last time the pinnacle was the Monaco tournament and qualifying. That was something we’d been building for what felt like a long time over Covid. This time having the benefit of qualifying already means that we can really view Paris as the pinnacle and everything is building towards that for the year.”

While the bronze medals claimed at last year’s Rugby World Cup Sevens in South Africa means Ireland will head into the Paris Olympics with lofty ambitions, host nation France have outlined their intent for the summer games by recruiting acclaimed 15s scrum-half Antoine Dupont to their Sevens programme.

This has led to some debate over whether Ireland could recruit some star names in a bid to enhance their Olympic prospects with established 15-a-side players such as Hugo Keenan, Jimmy O’Brien and Robert Baloucoune having previously represented their country in Sevens rugby.

Yet Dupont will miss out on next spring’s Six Nations Championship as a result of his devotion to the Sevens cause — he is also expected to feature prominently in the SVNS Series — and Kennedy feels that any Irish player eager to fulfil an Olympic dream will more than likely need to give a similar commitment.

“I think we’ve had that conversation [about Dupont], that it’s brilliant for the game. Especially with the Olympics being in France. Talking to a couple of people who were over at the World Cup, just in terms of how well renowned he is over there among the French public and not just even the rugby public,” Kennedy added.

“We’ve a really strong squad in here that have been around for a long time. It is a different sport, so I think if anyone is to make the move, they need to give ample time. Dupont is doing it for the year. Otherwise, they’ll just fall by the wayside. We’ve a really competitive squad in here already. A really strong squad that will put ourselves in a really good spot, no matter what.”

Daire Walsh