MUNSTER 7’s Head Coach Colm McMahon has named his twelve man Munster 7s squad for the Limerick World Club 7s tournament at Thomond Park Stadium this coming Friday and Saturday, kicking off at 11am each day.
McMahon features a mix of academy, sub-academy and club talent in a side that will be captained by academy player Alex Wootton.
Wootton is one of four Ireland Men’s 7s representatives in McMahon’s squad alongside Young Munster’s Diarmaid McCarthy, UL Bohemian’s Cian Aherne and Alan Bennie.
From the academy ranks, recent Ireland U20s representative Tomás Quinlan again features for Munster at the Limerick World Club 7s and this year is joined by his colleagues Wootton, Ryan Foley, Steven McMahon, Jack Cullen, Frank Bradshaw Ryan (sub-academy) and Olly Lyons (Exiles). Lyons has been training with the academy for pre-season.
Also on the international front, following his recent move to Ireland, Malaysian 7s player Murray Linn is included while Cork Constitution’s Niall Kenneally completes the twelve man squad.
Munster 7s Squad: Cian Aherne, Alan Bennie, Frank Bradshaw Ryan, Jack Cullen, Ryan Foley, Niall Kenneally, Murray Linn, Olly Lyons, Diarmaid McCarthy, Steven McMahon, Tomás Quinlan, Alex Wootton.
Looking ahead to this weekend’s tournament, McMahon said, “Last year playing a Sevens tournament was very new to a lot of us but since then a national Sevens programme has taken off and the national team have made it through to an Olympic qualifier. The sport certainly has taken off over the last year and we’re fortunate to have players a lot more exposed now than they were this time last year.
“We’ve got plenty of academy involvement but this weekend is also a great opportunity for some club players to put their hands up and be seen. With the Sevens pathway there’s an opportunity to get into an international tournament a lot quicker and that gives them a chance to be seen by professional team coaches.
“The lesson from last year was that we performed very well on Day One, however when it came to the Cup rugby on Day Two other teams were that bit more streetwise – they held a little in reserve and were really up for it. That experience from last year will help us and the guys who’ve been playing in European tournaments – playing six games in two days – will bring a lot of know-how to the squad also.”
One of twelve competing sides from around the world (including the four Irish provinces), Munster are drawn in Pool 2 of the competition and will play at the following times on Friday.
12.09 Munster v Canadian Maples
14.44 Munster v Samurai
17.02 Munster v San Francisco
Saturday’s fixtures are dependent on Pool results and will be confirmed on Friday night, but gates will open again on Saturday at 11am.
