THE CURIOUS CHALLENGE of 7s rugby is that you can be tipping along in fine form with good things happening when a sudden bad bounce of the ball sends you down an altogether different path, one that leads to agony.
It works the other way too, with the wildly swinging momentum of the code allowing teams who appear to be on an unhappy journey to magically transform into contenders in the blink of an eye.
The Ireland men’s 7s team know all about both sides of the coin.
Still, they’d rather have enjoyed the opening day in Paris that they had yesterday, with wins over South Africa and Japan meaning they have secured a place in this evening’s quarter-finals at Stade de France.
This also means they have already bettered their performance at the last Olympic Games when they won only one of their three pool games in Tokyo. So yesterday was a little slice of history, even if it’s not exactly what Ireland travelled to Paris for.
They still have one last pool game to play against New Zealand at 3.30pm Irish time today [live on RTÉ2] and it’s an important one as the two sides battle it out for top spot in Pool A.
The Kiwis also had a two-from-two opening day as they beat Japan and South Africa, so this will be a tasty tie.
Topping the pool would mean a quarter-final against the 8th-ranked side, i.e. the lowest-ranked team to get out of the pools. There are three pools in the Olympic 7s, with the top two from each going through along with the two best third-placed teams.
There’s plenty that can still happen in the other final pool games this afternoon, but topping Pool A is obviously the ideal scenario for Ireland.
If they lose to or draw with New Zealand and therefore finish second in Pool A, Ireland will face the winners of Pool B – either Fiji or hosts France – in their quarter-final.
Adding to the good vibes on day one was the fact that Ireland head coach James Topping was able to give all 12 members of his squad a start in the opening two games, the relative weakness of Japan giving him the chance to make five changes to his starting side. That’s good for the atmosphere in the squad but also the physical freshness of everyone.
There didn’t appear to be any injury worries for Ireland and the excellent form of their big players continued.
Remember that this is a group who finished second in the overall SVNS Series table this season. Ireland didn’t win any of the eight legs but they were never outside the top six and had a second-place finish in Singapore in May, getting pipped by New Zealand in the final. They were a picture of consistency.
In the scintillating Terry Kennedy, they have the man who was the top try-scorer on the SVSN Series with 31. As we saw again yesterday, it’s difficult to stop the St Mary’s man even when you know what’s coming. The 2022 World Rugby 7s player of the year is invariably at the heart of the best things Ireland do with his searing outside break, rapid footwork, and combative attitude.
Another man who added to his ever-growing reputation yesterday was the powerful Zac Ward, the only Ulster man in the Ireland squad. The son of former Ireland flanker Andy and brother of Ireland U20s back row Bryn, he is a product of the All-Ireland League with Ballynahinch.
Ward’s aggressive ball-carrying has become crucial for Ireland in the last couple of seasons and he has no shortage of pace once he breaks through tackles. The reigning Irish men’s 7s players’ player of the year, Ward was excellent again yesterday.
This is a settled Ireland squad in which stalwarts like captain Harry McNulty and Mark Roche have been involved since the relaunch of the programme in 2015, while others like Jordan Conroy have also put blood, sweat, and tears into the seven-player code.
Even the two recent additions – Hugo Keenan and Andrew Smith – are actually returnees. They both benefited from playing 7s on their journey towards making an impact in 15s rugby. They know this squad well and understand the intricacies of 7s.
While Antoine Dupont has been doing cool stuff for France, Keenan’s return for Ireland has been more low-key. He was never a sensational magic man in 7s but his error count is always low and he’s a brilliant defender. Keenan probably feels the best is still to come from him.
A little like the men’s 15s team, the key to this Irish side is the collective, how every player is part of a cohesive system. Ireland can be less flashy than other 7s sides but they have great belief in their hard-working approach.
So there’s plenty to like about Topping’s team as they look ahead to a huge day two in Paris.
If they beat New Zealand, their quarter-final will be at 8pm Irish time this evening, while they’ll play at 9pm if they lose or draw against the Kiwis.
Win their quarter-final and Ireland would then be able to thoroughly enjoy a rest day tomorrow due to the Olympics opening ceremony taking place in Paris, with the semi-finals, bronze medal match, and gold medal match to come on Saturday.
The excitement of history being so close will be energising for Ireland and yet they know that the hard work only really starts today with 28 crucial minutes of rugby.
