Ireland national rugby sevens team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Ireland women's national rugby sevens team.

Ireland
UnionIrish Rugby Football Union
Coach(es)James Topping
Captain(s)Harry McNulty
Most capsHarry McNulty (181)[note 1]
Top scorerJordan Conroy (615)[note 2]
Most triesJordan Conroy (123)[note 3]
Team kit
Change kit
First international
 New Zealand 18–22  Ireland
(7 April 1973)
Largest win
 Hungary 0–80  Ireland
(1 June 1996)
Largest defeat
 Fiji 56–0  Ireland
(23 November 2000)
World Cup Sevens
Appearances7 (First in 1993)
Best result3rd place (1993, 2022)

The Ireland national rugby sevens team competes in several international rugby sevens competitions. The team is governed by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU).

Ireland competes as a "core team" on the World Rugby Sevens Series, a competition every year from December to June that includes ten tournaments staged around the globe. The 2019–20 season is Ireland's first season as a core team. At the 2019 Hong Kong Sevens Ireland won the World Series Qualifier tournament for the 2019–20 World Rugby Sevens Series, earning "core team" status for the first time. Prior to this Ireland had competed in individual tournaments within World Rugby Sevens Series, though not as a core team. Ireland's became the first non-core side to medal at a World Series tournament at the 2018 London Sevens, where they finished in third place. Since their inclusion as a core side, they have earned 2nd-place finishes twice, at the 2022 France Sevens and the 2022 Dubai Sevens.[1][2]

Ireland also competes in major quadrennial rugby sevens tournaments and their qualifying tournaments. Ireland has competed in most Rugby World Cup Sevens since the 1993 inaugural event, with their best results including finishing third in 1993 and 2022. The team also competes during qualifying for the Summer Olympics, but failed to qualify for the inaugural rugby sevens competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics. On 20 June 2021 Ireland qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[3][4]

Following the announcement in 2009 that rugby sevens would be an Olympic sport beginning in 2016,[5] the Irish Rugby Football Union created a men's rugby sevens programme in 2014. In 2015 the IRFU announced its goal to field a national sevens team that would qualify for the Summer Olympics and the World Rugby Sevens Series.[6] Ireland has since begun offering professional contracts to its squad of sevens players. In 2022 Ireland equalled their best ever World Cup Sevens performance, winning the bronze medal.

Ireland also participates in the Rugby Europe Sevens Series.


Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference 22 Toulouse was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2022 Dubai Finals was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Team, The42 (20 June 2021). "Sensational second half sees Ireland Men's Sevens qualify for Tokyo Olympics". The42. Retrieved 20 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Ireland Rugby 7s book first-ever place at Olympics after shock final win over France". Irish Independent. London. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Ireland finally look to take Sevens seriously ahead of Rio 2016". More Than the Games. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011.
  6. ^ "Ireland Men's Sevens Squad And Structures Announced" Archived 5 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, 19 May 2015.