IRELAND MEN’S SEVENS squad will get a chance to get back into gear at the Sports Campus on Saturday as they prepare to face three provinces in competition.
Anthony Eddy’s side will take on academy squads from Munster, Connacht and Ulster in the first of three rounds of the IRFU’s first academy 7s tournament.
Leinster are the notable absentees from round one owing to a combination of injuries and stretched resources with 21 senior players in the 15-a-side Ireland setup. However, the eastern province are due to take their place in the tournament for rounds two and three on 31 October and 7 November respectively.
Ireland’s squad features many players with World Series experience as captain Billy Dardis, Mark Roche, Terry Kennedy and Jordan Conroy are in harness alongside newcomers Gavin Mullin and Steven Kilgallon.
The provincial academies are not without Sevens experience either as Ulster will field Aaron Sexton and Cormac Izuchukwu, while Alex McHenry and Jack Daly will hope their experience of Eddy’s international setup help Munster along.
“The inaugural Academy 7s Series will provide the Academy players with a welcome return to competitive action this weekend,” said Peter Smyth, the IRFU’s head of elite player development.
“To have six matches back to back between the Provincial and National 7s squads will give the players the opportunity to test their core skills under match intensity and conditions.”
Squads for IRFU Academy 7s, Saturday 17 October.
Ireland: Aaron O’Sullivan, Ian Fitzpatrick, Gavin Mullin, Peter Maher, Jack Kelly, Mark Roche, Billy Dardis, Hugo Lennox, Terry Kennedy, Duran Krummeck, Steven Kilgallon, Jordan Conroy, Eanna Madden.
Connacht: Cathal Forde, Shane Jennings, Oran McNulty, Sean O’Brien, Diarmuid Kilgallen, Donnacha Byrne, Hubert Costello, Declan Adamson, Dylan Tierney, Oisin McCormack, Joshua Dunne.
Munster: Eoghan Clarke, Scott Buckley, Jack Daly, Jack Crowley, Jake Flannery, Jonathan Wren, Sean French, Jack O’Sullivan, Alex McHenry, Liam Coombes, Calvin Nash, Matt Gallagher.
Ulster: Azur Allison, Ben Carson, Lewis Finlay, Hayden Hyde, Bruce Houston, Cormac Izuchukwu, Greg Jones, Conor Rankin, Marcus Rea, Aaron Sexton, David Shanahan.
