Never in doubt.
Ireland’s Sevens team will play a full part in the 2020 HSBC World Series after winning the qualifying competition in Hong Kong today.
Ireland beat Jamaica and Russia, either side of a draw with Uruguay, to reach the quarter finals. They saw off the Russians again in the last eight before beating Germany in the semis.
Jordan Conroy has been tipped as a future Sevens World Series star after his string of impressive scores, and performances. He raced in two more tries against Germany and there was an insurance score from captain Billy Dardis in the 19-10 victory.
That put Ireland a step away from a Qualifiers’ cup win and a spot in the lucrative World Series in 2020, which would be ideal preparation for a tilt at the Olympics.
Hosts Hong Kong awaited them in the final but Harry McNulty and Gregory O’Shea got first half scores to settle the Irish. Hong Kong hit back after the break but tries from Conroy and Terry Kennedy saw Ireland win out 28-7 and spark wild scenes of celebration.
Dardis spoke extremely well in his post-match interview, one which Conroy gate-crashed as it was going out live. The Ireland captain said:
“We’re just delighted. Just reflecting on the last 16 months, 24 months, it has been a long, hard road but to finally do it is just unreal. We all just stood there on the pitch at the end; couldn’t move. I’m just speechless… it’s class, really class.
Dardis added, “I ran up and took that last [conversion] with my arms in the air. To be able to finish out with a smile on your face is unreal. We all spoke about this months ago, years ago, and for it to actually happen is just class.”
Asked what it meant to qualify for the World Series, which features New Zealand, Fiji, England, Australia and more, Dardis joked, “It hasn’t sunk in yet… I’d say we’ll be out partying, and then we might realise!”
Up next, says Dardis, are the Olympic qualifiers in the summer. If Ireland can get through to the 2020 games, they will deserve another big party.
