THE IRELAND MEN’S 7s team finished fourth in the first leg of the 2021 World Rugby Sevens Series in Vancouver over the weekend.

IRFU director of 7s rugby Anthony Eddy selected a squad featuring several new faces at this level, but the inexperienced group showed their potential by reaching the semi-finals at BC Place.

This fourth-place finish was Ireland’s best since becoming a core team on the Series in 2019.

Ireland left most of their players from this year’s Olympics at home as Eddy assessed the depth of his wider squad and he will have been pleased with the outing in Canada.

Munster academy wing Conor Phillips was among the stars for Ireland as he demonstrated his searing pace and offloading ability. The Young Munster man led the try-scoring charts for Ireland with four.

Meanwhile, the likes of Ulster academy wing Ben Moxham, Connacht centre Shane Jennings, and Leinster’s Liam Turner, Niall Comerford, and Chris Cosgrave all made impressive contributions.

While the trio of captain Bryan Mollen, Mark Roche, and Gavin Mullin provided experience, there were also important impacts from Sean Cribbin, Sean Kearns, Steven Kilgallen, and Ed Kelly.

Ireland opened their weekend with a 50-0 win over Jamaica before edging past Hong Kong on a 17-14 scoreline. A 7-7 draw with Great Britain in their final pool game handed Ireland a quarter-final clash with Hong Kong.

It took a Moxham try in extra-time for Ireland to book their place in the semi-finals, where they were well beaten by a more experienced Kenya team on a 38-5 scoreline. Ireland concluded their weekend with a 24-14 defeat to Great Britain in the third-place play-off.

Nonetheless, it was a positive tournament for the Irish squad and Eddy will look for another strong outing at the Edmonton 7s in Canada this coming weekend in what will be the final leg of the 2021 Series, which has seen multiple events cancelled due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic.