IRELAND MEN WON the opening leg of the Rugby Europe Championship 7s on Sunday evening, coming from behind to beat Georgia in the Algarve final.

Two tries from Zac Ward and one from Dylan O’Grady gave Ireland a 19-10 win in Vila Real de Santo Antonio as they continue their preparations for the Olympic qualification tournament later this month.

Ireland came through their pool with a 100% record before beating Portugal and Great Britain in the knockout rounds, and found themselves up against a Georgia side who have been the surprise package of the tournament.

After losing Andrew Smith to a yellow card in the second minute, Ireland found themselves 5-0 down at the break with Giorgi Jobava crossing for the only score of the first half.

A moment of individual brilliance from Jack Kelly unlocked the Georgian defence after the restart, as he gathered his own kick before offloading to Ward who arrived in support to score.

Billy Dardis’s conversion gave Ireland a 7-5 lead, and they further stretched that advantage when Ward scored his second with a clever pick and go from the base of a ruck, Dardis again adding the extras to make it 14-5.

Dylan O’Grady ran in Ireland’s third try to make the victory safe with two minutes to play, with Giorgi Kurtanidze’s try after the hooter proving to be little more than a consolation for the runners-up.

“It means a lot,” Niall Comerford said afterwards.

“All the teams are playing very well and it’s a good building block; we’ll all be back together in about two weeks’ time in Krakow for Olympic qualification.

“That’s what everyone’s really after.”

Ireland Women — who clinched their own Olympic qualification last month — finished the weekend in third place following a 20-7 victory against Poland.

France won the women’s tournament, beating Great Britain 19-7 in the final.