THE IRFU HAS opted against hosting a rugby sevens competition in Ireland in June.
Ireland had been considered one of the leading contenders to host the final qualifying repechage competition for the 2020 Olympics, which the national mens sevens team will be part of.
Ireland have not yet secured their place at the Tokyo Games and home advantage would have been extremely useful as they get their last chance do so in June.
However, the IRFU has decided not to pursue any bid to secure the hosting of the repechage due to concerns about the costs of running the competition, which is slated to take place on 20 and 21 June, the same weekend as the Guinness Pro14 final – another concern for the IRFU.
Had the union been interested in hosting the repechage, it’s understood that Ireland would have been the strongest contender available to World Rugby.
A spokesperson for the IRFU told The42 that its lack of interest in hosting the tournament had nothing to do with concerns around the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus and that a decision had been made around two weeks ago, before the Six Nations clash with Italy in Dublin was postponed.
The loss of between €5 million and €10 million due to that senior men’s team clash with Italy being postponed means the IRFU is even more content at deciding against bidding to host the 7s repechage.
The IRFU has had to put several development plans on hold in the wake of the postponement, while its intentions of working on ‘rugby hubs’ in new areas of the country have also been paused with the Italy game still not rescheduled.
World Rugby is now searching for a host for the Olympic 7s qualifier and the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus means that process will understandably be more difficult.
Ireland have been a core team on the men’s World Rugby Sevens Series for the first time this season and are currently ninth in the overall standings after five of the 10 legs.
Anthony Eddy’s side finished sixth at last weekend’s Los Angeles 7s and will hope to match or better that in Vancouver this weekend.
While the Irish men’s team are understandably learning as they go in the Series and delivering some impressive performances along the way, Olympic qualification would be a major boost for the profile of the seven-player code.
The Ireland women’s team won’t be travelling to the Olympics this summer, having failed to qualify, but the IRFU is hopeful of having the men’s team in Tokyo.
The exposure would be important for the union’s men’s 7s programme, which only got up and running again in 2015 after years of inactivity.
Reaching the Series for this season was a key stepping stone along the way but qualifying for the Olympics has been a major objective in the programme since its relaunch.
IRFU performance director David Nucifora is a strong advocate for the sevens game as a development tool for 15s players, as well as a sport in its own right.
The likes of Leinster current players Will Connors, Jimmy O’Brien and Hugo Keenan have spent time in Ireland’s 7s programme, while senior Ireland 15s caps Rory O’Loughlin and Adam Byrne, as well as Munster’s Alex Wootton and Dan Goggin, Leinster’s Barry Daly, Connacht man Tom Daly, and Ulster’s Nick Timoney have also passed through 7s squads.
The programme has faced criticism over the relatively poor salaries paid to players on ‘full-time’ IRFU contracts, with those deals still worth just €18,000 per season.
The hope for the players involved in the 7s programme who are not also contracted to one of the provinces is that further progress, including Olympic qualification, will result in greater remuneration.
Ireland’s strongest competition in the repechage in June is likely to come from France – who are currently fourth in the overall Series standings – while fellow core team Samoa are also a threat.
As much as I’d love to see more Munster guys involved you can’t really argue too much with his selection. He’s capped a lot of guys over the last two seasons and this group knows the Irish system inside out. Cutting it down agsin is going to be a huge task. The one that irks me is stockdale over Daly. Daly has been so so consistent this season and has improved more than any Munster player this season imo. Still like other world cups there’s going to be a lot of injuries so let’s not write the non selected off yet
@Daithí: Don’t let it irk you too much. Stockdale is a proven quality player at the very highest level. Beset by injuries in recent seasons but showed real form/ fight in the last few months in an Ulster team that were losing. Farrell clearly rewarding that as a fit and firing Stockdale would be a serious asset to this team. Easy to forget he’s still only 27.
@Daithí: There is no place for that kind of measured and sensible comment here!
@Jack McCartie: oh for sure I totally get it, experience at international level is massive. Just thought over the season Daly had been the better player and he’s been in and around the Irish set up so it wouldn’t just be throwing him in there. Saying all that would either of the two be in the 23 ? I don’t think so
@Daithí: Exactly. He has been working with all these players for the past 2 years and he’s been imbedding different structures and systems in place. He’s been developing the likes of Baird, Frawley, Osborne, O’Brien, McCarthy, Prendergast, Stewart for a while now. He’s had a great year with the squad that he has stuck with. He’s hardly going to just drop all of those guys because a few Munster players have been playing well 2 or 3 months out from a World Cup. That would be totally reckless and erratic. Munster fans insisting Loughnan, Barron, Daly, Frisch be included when they’ve hardly ever been in the actual training squads. Like what planet are yous on haha
“Indeed, the selection strengthens the sense that Ireland will go into the World Cup with great cohesion and a confident sense of momentum based on their exploits over the past two seasons. Again, that’s more relevant than how Leinster or Munster have played recently.”
I’d disagree with this. There’s nothing better for momentum than winning. Adding an extra 3/4 of that Munster starting team to the squad would have raised the intensity of that environment in camp a lot I’d say.
First time in a decade there’s some genuine competition between Munster and Leinster and I think the coaches have missed a trick not harnessing that for the next few months, regardless of who they plan to bring on the plance to France.
@ttam 12: Genuinely curious, but who would you add/replace?
@Ruaidhri MagFhloinn: Daly for Earls, Kleyn for Treadwell. And then I’d have just selected Hodnett and Haley as specialists at 7 and 15. Insurance in the camp in case anything happens to JVDF or Keenan before they leave.
I think those 4 have been Munster’s best players this season, along with Nash and Beirne once he came back.
@ttam 12: there’s a long road yet before the squad departs never mind injuries that will undoubtedly occur along the way.
Winning a mickey mouse trophy is obviously not going to change Farrells plans, lets be honest
@Dave Moran: wouldn’t you have liked to win that Mickey Mouse trophy!
@Dave Moran: Ah your back, bit annoyed about Jordan I’d say?
@Dave Moran: well it is a trophy!
@Philyclever@eircom.net: again? Not really. Leinster’s season was a failure for not winning Europe.
@Dave Moran: Better than no trophy.
.. contd
Locks Back Row (10) : Baird, Beirne, Conan, Doris, VDF, O’Mahony, Ryan all certain. So pick 3 from Coombes, Henderson, McCarthy, Prendergast and Treadwell.
Scrum-halves-(3) done and dusted. JGP, Murray and Casey.
Out halves (3) Sexton, Crowley, Byrne
Centres (3) Aki, Henshaw and Ringrose
Back 3 (5) Hansen, Lowe, Keenan and certain. So choose 2 from Stockdale, O’Brien, Osborne, Frawley, Earls(?)
Really not much selections in play if there is no injury!
Team cohesion won the 6N for Ireland and no way was this going to be compromised for WC. Hence the incremental expansion. For a 33 man panel, there are very few open positions – assuming a 19/14 backs/forwards split and 3 needed for specialist positions:
Front row: only Herring/Stewart
Back
@John Morris: I think he goes 18-15 – goes with 8 front rowers with Bealham being versatile
@Owen ODonoghue: unless Furlong sorts his fitness issues, Bealham may well be starting TH!
@John Morris: very true , I’d go 9 front rowers and have Loughman over Kilcoyne, i don’t see Healey starting any games
Shocking shi… from Farrell.