EACH OF THE four Irish provinces will enter a team into the second Limerick World Club Se7ens Series this summer.
The tournament, which was held for the first time last year, takes place at Thomond Park in August, with Leinster, Ulster and Connacht set to field teams alongside Munster, who competed in the 2014 tournament.
Youngsters like Stephen Fitzgerald, Ronan O’Mahony, Shane Buckley, Luke O’Dea and Darren Sweetnam excelled for Munster last year, meaning there will be excitement to see what Leinster, Ulster and Connacht bring to the mix.
Reigning champions Daveta of Fiji and 2014 Twickenham World Club 7s champions Buenos Aires have also been confirmed as participants in the summer tournament, which will take place on Friday 21 August and Saturday 22 August.
“The development of sevens rugby is a key priority for the IRFU and it is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the best of Irish sevens against some of the world’s strongest sides,” said IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens, Anthony Eddy.
“The Rio Olympics are just around the corner and events such as the Limerick World Club Se7ens provide Irish rugby supporters the opportunity to experience high-quality rugby sevens first hand and also provides the opportunity for our players to continue to develop and gain valuable sevens experience.”
The IRFU have relaunched their men’s sevens programme this year, with Ireland set to compete in the European Championships in June, hoping to advance into the European Olympic Repêchage Tournament in July.
That competition offers the winners a place in the Rio games, though it would be a sensation for Ireland to achieve that goal.
Eddy has been running training camps with an Ireland squad of around 30 players in recent weeks, having overseen a thorough screening process earlier in the year.
Provincial players such as Luke O’Dea and Diarmuid McCarthy of Munster and Leinster’s Sam Coghlan Murray, as well as Ireland’s most talented club stars, have been taking part in those training camps with a view to representing Ireland this summer.
That all four provinces have agreed to play in the Limerick World Club Se7ens Series is the latest sign of the long-awaited and much-needed revival of the short-form code on these shores.
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Tickets for the Limerick World Club Se7ens Series are available now on www.ticketmaster.ie/limericksevens.
