LIMERICK’S Greg O’Shea has been included in the Ireland Men’s 7s side that takes part in a the Dubai Invitational this weekend.
The Shannon winger returned to the Irish set up earlier this month for the San Jose Silicon Valley 7s having missed out on the summer schedule due to injury. Current Munster Academy player Alex McHenry (Cork Con) is also named in the squad.
Ireland are drawn into Pool C, with Germany, France Development and Old Georgians RFC. Alongside Ireland’s pool opponents Germany and France Development, the Dubai 7s Invitational features several other international sides, including the likes of Georgia, Zambia, England Development (Royals), the South African 7s Academy and the Canada Maple Leafs.
Speaking on confirmation of the squad, IRFU Director of Rugby Sevens, Anthony Eddy said; “We’ve named a strong side to travel out to Dubai for the Invitational tournament, and the players that have been selected have all played against top international teams already this season at the likes of the Oktoberfest 7s and the Silicon Valley 7s.
“With the likes of Germany and the French development side in our pool, it’s set to be a challenging opening day and will be another good test for the players as we continue to build towards the Hong Kong Repechage next April.”
The Dubai 7s Invitational tournament takes place on the 1st and 2nd December at the Sevens Stadium in Dubai.
Ireland Men’s 7s – Dubai 7s Invitational, Sevens Stadium, Dubai – 1/2 December 2017
Sean Cribbin (Suttonians)
Billy Dardis (UCD RFC)
Ian Fitzpatrick (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
Hugo Keenan (UCD RFC/Leinster)
Terry Kennedy (St. Mary’s College RFC/Leinster)
Alex McHenry (Cork Constitution FC/Munster)
Harry McNulty (UCD RFC)
Bryan Mollen (Dublin University FC)
Jimmy O’Brien (UCD RFC/Leinster)
John O’Donnell (Lansdowne FC)
Greg O’Shea (Shannon RFC)
Mark Roche (Blackrock College RFC)
Ireland Men’s 7s – Dubai 7s Invitational Fixtures – Pool C
Friday 1st December 2017
Ireland v Germany – 3:40pm (local time)/11:40am (Irish time)
Ireland v Old Georgians RFC – 7:06pm (local time)/3:06pm (Irish time)
Ireland v France Development – 9:00pm (local time)/5.00pm Sun (Irish time)
Saturday 2nd December 2017
Play-offs
Ireland Men’s 7s Competitions Schedule:
Oktoberfest 7s, Munich, Germany – 7th Place
Elche 7s, Spain –2nd Place
Silicon Valley 7s – 9th Place
Dubai 7s, Dubai, UAU – 1st/2nd December
Hong Kong 7s (World Series Repechage) – 7th/8th April
Amsterdam 7s, Netherlands – 9th/10th June
World Rugby Sevens Rugby World Cup, San Francisco, USA – 20th-22nd July
