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Ireland will hope home support can help them qualify for Rio. Colm O'Neill/INPHO

Ireland name Niamh Briggs in 7s squad for this weekend's Olympic qualifier in UCD

The stakes couldn’t be any higher for the

IT’S LAST CHANCE saloon for Ireland’s Women on the road to Rio and Anthony Eddy has named a strong squad for this weekend’s Olympic Qualifying tournament in UCD.

The panel contains many of the players who competed on the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series this season with Ireland 15s captain Niamh Briggs among those included.

The side is captained by Lucy Mulhall for the tournament which takes place in Belfield on Saturday and Sunday.

Ireland have been drawn in Pool C with China, Portugal and Trinidad and Tobago with a place in Rio on the line.

With just one qualifying berth up for grabs, competition will be fierce as Ireland vie with 16 other teams for the final place at this summer’s Games.

“The tournament this weekend is something we’ve been building towards all season,” Eddy said.

“With both Olympic Qualification and a place as a core team on next season’s World Series, we are very much aware of what is at stake.

“The players have gained great experience from being on the World Series this year and understand what is required from them in UCD this weekend so they are looking forward to competing in front of a home crowd and hopefully we can get a good result.”

Ireland’s first assignment is against Trinidad and Tobago at 12.34pm on Saturday before facing Portugal (3.40pm) and China (6.48pm).

The play-offs will then take place on Sunday and tickets are still available here.

Ireland Women’s Sevens squad:

  • Ashleigh Baxter – Belfast Harlequins / Ulster
  • Niamh Briggs – UL Bohemians / Munster
  • Nicole Cronin – Shannon / Munster
  • Aoife Doyle – Shannon / Munster
  • Louise Galvin – UL Bohemians / Munster
  • Kim Flood – Railway Union / Leinster
  • Stacey Flood – Railway Union / Leinster
  • Alison Miller – Portlaoise / Connacht
  • Lucy Mulhall – Rathdrum / Leinster – Captain
  • Amee Leigh Murphy-Crowe – Railway Union / Munster
  • Audrey O’Flynn – Talent ID Programme
  • Megan Williams – St.Mary’s College RFC

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    Mute James
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    Aug 5th 2024, 12:22 AM

    Fair f#@ks Danny, best of luck. Of course, if you don’t do well, our resident haters will simply line up to say that you’re arrogant rather than an ultra-confident young man with huge ability.

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    Mute Square
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    Aug 5th 2024, 12:24 AM

    @James: well said

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    Mute Bert Carolan
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    Aug 5th 2024, 12:29 AM

    @James: Dead on James. Give it a go Daniel and sure what’s the worst that can happen? You might not get a medal? Remarkable young man.

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    Mute Michael Corkery
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    Aug 5th 2024, 7:09 AM

    @James: RTÉ swimming analysts have a role here as well not to hype up expectations of a podium. I know little or nothing about open water racing but I would think he has 0 chance of medal if he’s not done it before. Fair dues to him for giving it a go but it’s probably the taking part that counts here in reality. Let’s see.

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    Mute Ciaran Kennedy
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    Aug 5th 2024, 8:36 AM

    @Michael Corkery: some of the rte analysts and commentators are shocking bad this year, their ridiculous levels of arrogance really takes the enjoyment from it.

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    Mute JJB
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    Aug 5th 2024, 10:15 AM

    @James: Let me preface this by saying I have no feelings about D Wiffen – good or bad. I don’t know him so how can I? Some posters (myself being one) suggested that for him, yesterdays bronze was a disappointment. When you proclaim pre-race that you are going to win and don’t, then it is failure as an absolute for that athlete. Secondly, guys like me suggested that tempering these pre-event proclamations might be more prudent, adding that confidence layered with humility is a more likeable combination. Please explain how this makes me a “hater” as you so eloquently termed it.

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    Mute Kingshu
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    Aug 5th 2024, 1:12 AM

    Fair play to him, but I’d have thought you would have had to qualify for these events, not just decide your going to give it a go at the Olympics?

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    Mute James
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    Aug 5th 2024, 1:53 AM

    @Kingshu: I think it might have been like that for John Treacy with the marathon back in 1984. I think he decided on the spur of the moment to give it a go. Maybe it will work out for Danny in the same way.

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    Mute Al
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    Aug 5th 2024, 3:09 AM

    @Kingshu: I have done some search in online and the qualifiers we’re based of last year workd champs at the event, I can not figure out what DW path way to the event was .

    I did see a piece where maybe you can QF by displaying a standard timed in a pool too.

    I’m keen to understand more if the 42 can enlighten us

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    Mute peter lynch
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    Aug 5th 2024, 6:40 AM

    @Al: He qualified for the 10k by achieving the olympic standard in the 1500m.

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    Mute Ciaran Kennedy
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    Aug 5th 2024, 8:31 AM

    @Al: try wiki, it’s not complete but it does explain it

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    Mute LPMcD
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    Aug 5th 2024, 9:46 AM

    Daniel Wiffen is probably our best swimmer ever. But going straight into the open water 10k without any real preparation and expecting to finish, let alone medal, is optimistic. The river will be an alien environment for him. The water is cold and murky. It tastes and smells different. You can barely see your hands in the water. There are currents pushing you one way at break neck speeds and the other like pushing against a scrum. There’s no line on the bottom of the pool to follow, you have to stick your head up mid stroke and try to sight the buoy. And then there’s fifty or so other guys bumping kicking and thrashing all around you, knocking your arms and splashing as you try to breathe. If he hasn’t experienced it all before, it could come as a shock.

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    Mute Jonny
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    Aug 5th 2024, 10:45 PM

    @LPMcD: bookies have him at third favourite to win it, he also said he’d been practicing for it… even if he hasn’t, I’m sure that he’d know more about river swimming than the rest of us.

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    Mute James T.Kirk
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    Aug 6th 2024, 12:35 AM

    @LPMcD: He isn’t just any swimmer and I’m sure it’s not the 1st time he swam in a river.

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    Mute Martin Lonergan
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    Aug 5th 2024, 6:34 AM

    Dan is a real Olympian ..not many of them left, he will be playing wing back for Armagh next year

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    Mute Ollie Fitzpatrick
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    Aug 5th 2024, 9:14 AM

    Best of luck Daniel, you are not a quitter. You will still get a hero’s welcome when you come home.
    Safe swimming Dan!!

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    Mute anthony davoren
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    Aug 5th 2024, 6:00 AM

    God help him if he doesn’t walk out with his head held low and win gold in a world record time and tell the world that it was just luck that got him over the line.. otherwise the under achieving clowns here will be slating him for being an arrogant failure who hasn’t backed it up this Olympics

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    Mute ecrowley ecrowley
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    Aug 5th 2024, 8:53 AM

    @anthony davoren: Literally zero people have in any way undermined or belitted his fantastic accomplishments.

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    Mute James T.Kirk
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    Aug 6th 2024, 12:30 AM

    Reminds of a guy who ran his 1st marathon in the Olympics in 1984 and got silver, John Treacy.

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