McHenry In Line For Ireland Sevens Debut At Paris 7s

The Ireland Men’s Sevens management have confirmed the squad for the Paris 7s, which takes place at the Stade Jean Bouin this weekend.

Munster Academy and Cork Constitution centre, Alex McHenry, is in line for his first Ireland Sevens cap, with Cork Con’s Shane Daly and Shannon’s Greg O’Shea also selected.

Ireland, who claimed bronze at the London 7s last weekend in Twickenham are again the invitational team this weekend in Paris.

It will be the first ever World Series event to feature both the Ireland Men’s and Women’s teams together, with the Women’s side beginning their campaign on Friday.

Ireland will coincidentally face the same Pool opposition as last weekend in London, having been randomly drawn with Australia, Spain and Wales.

Five players come into the squad, as the management look to use this opportunity to give players experience at this level.

Suttonians’ teenager Sean Cribbin, Lansdowne winger Adam Leavy, Old Wesley’s Robert O’Donovan and Cork Con’s Daly and Alex McHenry have all linked up with the side, with Robert Balocoune, Ian Fitzpatrick, Foster Horan and John O’Donnell all returning home following the London 7s.

McHenry and O’Donovan are set for their first Ireland Sevens caps this weekend.

Speaking ahead of the tournament commencing, Ireland Sevens Coach, Stan McDowell, said:

“We were obviously delighted with how things went in London, with the players showing that they can mix it with the best teams in the world.

This weekend gives them another opportunity to test themselves at this level, and we’ve brought in some new players to give them exposure against the world’s top teams.

With two important rounds of the Rugby Europe Grand Prix coming up in the next two months, as well as the Sevens Rugby World Cup at the end of July, it’s important that the players in the programme continue to develop and learn, and playing at these World Series events is a fantastic way for them to do that.“

After the Paris 7s, Ireland are next in action in Marcoussis in France for the second round of the Rugby Europe Grand Prix Series (30th June & 1st July) and the following week they compete at the third round in Exeter (7th & 8th July).

The Men’s and Women’s 7s side will both compete at the World Rugby Sevens Rugby World Cup in San Francisco over the weekend of the 20/21/22 July at the AT&T Stadium (tickets available here: www.rwcsevens.com/tickets )

The final round of the Rugby Europe Grand Prix takes place in Poland on the 8th & 9th September.

For Ireland to become a core team on the World Series, they must be one of the top three ranked sides at the end of the Rugby Europe Grand Prix series. This will see them qualify for next year’s World Series Qualifying tournament in Hong Kong. The winner of that tournament will claim a place on the 2019-20 World Series.

Ireland missed out on qualification this year, losing out to eventual winners Japan in the Semi-Final in Hong Kong back in April.

IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Squad (World Rugby Sevens Series – Paris 7s, Stade Jean Bouin Stadium, Paris, Saturday, June 9th & Sunday, June 11th):

Sean Cribbin (Suttonians RFC)
Jordan Conroy (Buccaneers RFC)
Shane Daly (Cork Constitution FC/Munster)
Billy Dardis (UCD RFC) Captain
Hugo Keenan (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Terry Kennedy (St. Mary’s College RFC/Leinster)
Adam Leavy (Lansdowne FC/Connacht)
Alex McHenry (Cork Constitution FC/Munster)*
Harry McNulty (UCD RFC)
Bryan Mollen (Dublin University FC)
Jimmy O’Brien (UCD RFC/Leinster)
James O’Donovan (Old Wesley RFC)*
Greg O’Shea (Shannon RFC)
Mark Roche (Blackrock College RFC)

*Uncapped at this level

IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Fixtures:

Paris 7s – Pool C:

Saturday, June 9:

Ireland v Spain – 9.36am (local time) / 8.36am (Irish time)
Ireland v Wales – 12.18pm (local time) / 11.18am (Irish time)
Ireland v Australia, 5.56pm (local time) / 4.46pm (Irish time)

Sunday, June 11:

Play-Offs

The Paris 7s will be broadcast on Sky Sports this weekend, while World Rugby will offer streaming in non geo-blocked locations: www.worldrugby.org/sevens-series/where-can-i-watch