Shannon winger Greg O’Shea in Ireland 7s squad for Paris

The Ireland Men’s Sevens management team have confirmed the squad for the Paris Sevens, the final leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, which takes place at Stade Jean-Bouin this weekend.

Ireland, who made history with a bronze medal finish in London last weekend, are again the invitational team for the Paris tournament. It will be the first ever World Series event to feature both the Ireland Men’s and Women’s Sevens teams together, with the Women’s side beginning their campaign on Friday.

Limerick man Greg O’Shea is again included in the squad for this weekend’s action but should see game time this time around as he’s included within the 12 man squad, having been named as the 13th man for the London 7s.

The Ireland men will coincidentally face the same pool opposition from the London Sevens, having been drawn with Australia, Spain and Wales once again. Five players come into the squad this week, as the management look to use this opportunity to give the wider player group experience at this level.

Suttonians teenager Sean Cribbin, Lansdowne winger Adam Leavy, Old Wesley’s James O’Donovan and Cork Constitution duo Shane Daly and Alex McHenry have all linked up with the squad in the French capital, with Robert Balocoune, Ian Fitzpatrick, Foster Horan and John O’Donnell returning home following their London exploits. McHenry and O’Donovan are poised to win their first Ireland Sevens caps this weekend.

Speaking ahead of the tournament, IRFU 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 IRFU Seven 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 Sevens, the Ireland Men’s side are next in action in Marcoussis in France for the second round of the Rugby Europe Grand Prix Series (June 30-July 1), and the following week they compete at the third round in Exeter (July 7-8).

The Ireland Men’s and Women’s Sevens teams will both compete at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco over the weekend of July 20-22 at AT&T Park. RWC Sevens tickets are available here. The final round of the Rugby Europe Grand Prix takes place in Lodz, Poland on September 8-9.

For the Ireland men 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 – they lost at the semi-final stage of this season’s qualifier in April. The winners of 2019 qualifier in Hong Kong will claim a place on the 2019/20 World Series.

HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series – Paris Sevens Pools/Fixtures

IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Squad 

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

IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS Fixtures – Paris Sevens:

Saturday, June 9 –

Pool C:

Ireland v Spain, Stade Jean-Bouin, 9.22am local time/8.22am Irish time
Ireland v Wales, Stade Jean-Boun, 12.18pm local time/11.18am Irish time
Ireland v Australia, Stade Jean-Bouin, 5.46pm local time/4.46pm Irish time

Sunday, June 10 –

Play-Offs