LAST UPDATE | 7 Apr
IRELAND MEN CLAIMED their third bronze medal of the World Rugby Sevens Series with a hard-fought win against Michael Hooper and Australia.
Two first-half tries from Hugo Lennox gave James Topping’s side a 14-5 win in the third-/fourth-place play-off in Hong Kong on Sunday.
The win cements Ireland’s position in second place in the overall standings, and cuts the gap to leaders Argentina to just eight points, with just one leg to play before the series finale in Madrid.
It was the perfect response from Ireland, who earlier saw their hopes of a first win of the season snuffed out by France for the third straight tournament, losing 26-10 in the semi-finals.
A nip-and-tuck first-half against Australia sparked to life in the fourth minute when Niall Comeford’s clever snipe sucked in defenders to create the numerical advantage out wide. Harry McNulty’s floated pass was on the money, and Lennox made no mistake with the finish, leaving himself with a straightforward conversion.
Lennox opens the scoring for @IrishRugby 💪#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSHKG pic.twitter.com/Pdn2AYf4I6
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) April 7, 2024
If Ireland’s first try was a well-executed team move, the second was a moment of brilliant opportunism from Lennox who gathered the ball on the halfway line, spotted an empty backfield, and backed himself with the kick-and-chase.
The covering James Turner looked to have just won the footrace, but Lennox got his toe on the bobbling ball to nick it away from the defender and pounced on it to score, his conversion making it 14-0 at the break.
The chip, the chase 😮💨
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) April 7, 2024
Now that’s a way to score 🤩#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSHKG https://t.co/rB7C51ecV3 pic.twitter.com/U1Shi6UaE7
Henry Palmer did manage a late consolation try for Australia, but with the hooter sounding as Maurice Longbottom’s conversion drifted wide, Ireland’s win was secured.
Earlier, there was no case of third time lucky against a France side who knocked Ireland out in the quarter-finals in Vancouver in February, and in the Los Angeles semi-finals last month.
France struck first through Varian Pasquet in the second minute before Zac Ward hit back for Ireland.
But Stephen Parez ensured that France took a 14-5 lead into the break despite losing Jordan Sepho to a yellow card in the final minutes of the first half.
A man down? Stephen Parez has all the answers 🔥#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSHKG https://t.co/fOnyIQETvQ pic.twitter.com/IAQxIAIBEQ
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) April 7, 2024
The next score was always likely to be crucial, and it turned out to be decisive as Antoine Zeghdar and Joachim Trouabal went over for a quick double to stretch France’s lead to 26-5 with four minutes to play, before Terry Kennedy ran in a late consolation.
In the women’s tournament, Ireland finished eighth after losing 12-5 against Japan in their final game.
