The Ireland Men's Sevens squad have joined their female counterparts in qualifying for next summer's Sevens Rugby World Cup in San Francisco - the first time this has been achieved by the IRFU Sevens programme.
Ireland have competed in five previous Men's RWC Sevens tournaments - 1993, 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2009 - with the Women's team making their Sevens World Cup bow four years ago in Moscow.
The men made it through to San Francisco courtesy of a third place finish at the Exeter 7s, the final leg of the Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series. Their only defeat of the weekend saw them go down 15-12 to Wales in a closely-fought Cup semi-final, before they won their 3rd-4th place play-off against Portugal (33-12).
Ireland fell short of winning the overall Grand Prix Series title, with Russia's Exeter final win over Wales seeing them crowned overall champions. Russia, who have also qualified for San Francisco, finished top of the series rankings with 74 points, closely followed by debutants Ireland (72) and Spain (58).
Just a week on from the Ireland Women's qualification for the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament, the men in green booked their place at the much-anticipated Stateside event which will be held at the iconic AT&T Park - the home of the San Francisco Giants - on July 20-22 next year.
It has been a summer to remember for the IRFU Sevens set-up, marshalled by Director of Sevens Rugby Anthony Eddy and Sevens development coach Stan McDowell. The Women's team reached new heights with a ninth place finish in the World Series and second place in Europe, while today, at the Exeter 7s, the men's side ended their first ever Rugby Europe Grand Prix Series as runners-up.
Their two stated aims for the Grand Prix Series was earning a place in the World Rugby Sevens Series qualifying tournament in Hong Kong next April as well as reaching the 2018 RWC Sevens, and Eddy's charges achieved both of those goals and have now announced themselves as a force to be reckoned with at European level.
IRELAND MEN'S SEVENS RESULTS
// Exeter 7s - Pool A, Sandy Park, Saturday 15th July
Ireland 36 Portugal 7
Ireland 40 Belgium 7
Ireland 26 France 0
Cup Quarter-Final: Ireland 24 England 7
Cup Semi-Final: Ireland 12 Wales 15
3rd-4th Place Play-Off: Ireland 33 Portugal 12
DAY 2 - Games 1 - RUGBY EUROPE MEN'S SEVENS... by RugbyEurope
Ireland have competed in five previous Men's RWC Sevens tournaments - 1993, 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2009 - with the Women's team making their Sevens World Cup bow four years ago in Moscow.
The men made it through to San Francisco courtesy of a third place finish at the Exeter 7s, the final leg of the Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series. Their only defeat of the weekend saw them go down 15-12 to Wales in a closely-fought Cup semi-final, before they won their 3rd-4th place play-off against Portugal (33-12).
Congratulations to @IrishRugby & @russiarugby qualified for @WorldRugby7s #RugbyWorldCup #RWC7s in San Francisco,USA
— Rugby Europe (@rugby_europe) July 16, 2017
?July 20-22, 2018 pic.twitter.com/xbp7VuAGnw
Ireland fell short of winning the overall Grand Prix Series title, with Russia's Exeter final win over Wales seeing them crowned overall champions. Russia, who have also qualified for San Francisco, finished top of the series rankings with 74 points, closely followed by debutants Ireland (72) and Spain (58).
Just a week on from the Ireland Women's qualification for the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament, the men in green booked their place at the much-anticipated Stateside event which will be held at the iconic AT&T Park - the home of the San Francisco Giants - on July 20-22 next year.
It has been a summer to remember for the IRFU Sevens set-up, marshalled by Director of Sevens Rugby Anthony Eddy and Sevens development coach Stan McDowell. The Women's team reached new heights with a ninth place finish in the World Series and second place in Europe, while today, at the Exeter 7s, the men's side ended their first ever Rugby Europe Grand Prix Series as runners-up.
Their two stated aims for the Grand Prix Series was earning a place in the World Rugby Sevens Series qualifying tournament in Hong Kong next April as well as reaching the 2018 RWC Sevens, and Eddy's charges achieved both of those goals and have now announced themselves as a force to be reckoned with at European level.
See you in San Francisco! #IreM7s #RWC7s pic.twitter.com/mi4POhNLt9
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) July 16, 2017
IRELAND MEN'S SEVENS RESULTS
// Exeter 7s - Pool A, Sandy Park, Saturday 15th July
Ireland 36 Portugal 7
Ireland 40 Belgium 7
Ireland 26 France 0
Cup Quarter-Final: Ireland 24 England 7
Cup Semi-Final: Ireland 12 Wales 15
3rd-4th Place Play-Off: Ireland 33 Portugal 12
DAY 2 - Games 1 - RUGBY EUROPE MEN'S SEVENS... by RugbyEurope