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Irish Rugby and Sevens
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Richie_Rich89 wrote: »Are you saying they're going as GB instead of England because of budget cuts?
I'm pretty sure that would have happened anyway. It was a GB team in 2016 too. They lost 45-7 in the gold medal match to Fiji, if I recall correctly.
im saying the english players who were cut from the RFU programme had to go and source their own funding to ensure they got to the olympics under the GB banner0 -
i think if you don't get the last point in this context of Irish sevens then they'res no point even discussing it. the whole reason the IRFU has decided to fund it is partly for this reason so i'm unsure how you don't see the connection.
and no he didn't get much of an opportunity no matter how many people repeat it. and BOD's done nothing to warrant your opitimistic outlook
I see pretty much every game Connacht play and given the last time we spoke about a Connacht player on here you called Niall Murray an average player who was lucky to be tall, I’ll take your opinion with a pinch of salt.
O’Donnell has had some good moments for Connacht this season, John Porch has been one of the best signings Connacht made in recent years so given how well that worked out there’s enough reasons to be hopeful O’Donnell will kick on with a full pre season under his belt.
Connacht are pretty quick to throw young/unproven guys in, it didn’t work out for Conroy there, maybe with another few years of rugby under his belt he has improved and will be successful at 15s if he decides to cross over again. As already stated, Nigel Carolan is a very astute judge and would have seen Kennedy up close with u20s, he didn’t opt to bring him to Connacht for whatever reason.0 -
lets keep in mind the differences between Ireland and England. Size, player numbers, marketing ability.
And the whole reason that the IRFU did a volte face on the sevens programme. We clearly don't have enough numbers at times, and logjams at others, and being able to warehouse talent in a professional elite environment, while boosting exposure is great. Its why we see the debate about a 5th province. is the sevens programme in some way our fifth province. Completely different sport but we've already seen it perform this scenario with Keenan et al.0 -
Richie_Rich89 wrote: »Are you saying they're going as GB instead of England because of budget cuts?
I'm pretty sure that would have happened anyway. It was a GB team in 2016 too. They lost 45-7 in the gold medal match to Fiji, if I recall correctly.
They're going as GB because that's the British Olympic affiliation and any sport that don't normally follow the GB lines (which is to say, most of them) have to come together and create a team.
We're fortunate in the Irish 7s context that Rugby is already an all-island entity, like jockey and that fits the Olympic Federation of Ireland model.
Although of course you will frequently see GB referred to as GB & NI, because NI athletes can of course declare for the Queen's shilling if they prefer. Funny old game!0 -
ClanofLams wrote: »I see pretty much every game Connacht play and given the last time we spoke about a Connacht player on here you called Niall Murray an average player who was lucky to be tall, I’ll take your opinion with a pinch of salt.
O’Donnell has had some good moments for Connacht this season, John Porch has been one of the best signings Connacht made in recent years so given how well that worked out there’s enough reasons to be hopeful O’Donnell will kick on with a full pre season under his belt.
Connacht are pretty quick to throw young/unproven guys in, it didn’t work out for Conroy there, maybe with another few years of rugby under his belt he has improved and will be successful at 15s if he decides to cross over again. As already stated, Nigel Carolan is a very astute judge and would have seen Kennedy up close with u20s, he didn’t opt to bring him to Connacht for whatever reason.
yeah he's only one judge. i told you Smyth has a different opinion. another astute judge of player. thats sport, thats life. fair enough.
Pinch of salt, whatever. I stand by that. i was overly harsh but he's not big enough to become a top class lock imo.
they were quick, i no longer think thats the case sadly enough. BOD has done abdsolutely nothing to garner such praise. People were going on about Paapli as well. he's turned out to be a disaster. so i wouldn't be putting much into friends moneyball signings. Porch has been good. i suppose its a shame he can't play for Ireland. i think Mack HAnsen and Bolton will be make or break signings for Friend. On paper it looks hugely exciting.
anyway who knows but i think both will be 15s players outside of Ireland. i hope so. after the olympics. then we can try cycle through another group. Get exposure for Sexton. i think if we can't make room for a TK, Dardis, JC, AS or GOS we're doing something wrong. We're at the stage where if a Dennis Hickey came through now people would be saying..."sevens player" a dangerous path imo. With about 150 pro players not a good idea. Thankfully the IRFU aren't as ignorant as some. SChmidtball has warped some people badly. People would want a tackling working winger over a shane williams. its depressing as ****
Personally thats all i want for a sevens programme in Ireland. Grow the game, get more crossovers, cycle in and out players. Boost sponsphip and overall participation, eyeballs on the game of rugby short or long form. and going by what the IRFU have said i imagine its similar.
Its a completely different function in England what with their 30 odd pro teams and 500k or so players. sevens becomes an afterthought with genuinely ail division 2 standard of player being in contention. the lads we have are the some of the best talent we have had. jack kelly was highly tipped for example. completely different, and if its not what in hell does that say about our academy system.0 -
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They're going as GB because that's the British Olympic affiliation and any sport that don't normally follow the GB lines (which is to say, most of them) have to come together and create a team.
We're fortunate in the Irish 7s context that Rugby is already an all-island entity, like jockey and that fits the Olympic Federation of Ireland model.
Although of course you will frequently see GB referred to as GB & NI, because NI athletes can of course declare for the Queen's shilling if they prefer. Funny old game!
Well, technically it is GB & NI, isn't it? It's a UK team.
People from NI can choose Ireland or GB & NI due to Ireland overlapping with the UK.
Robert Baloucoune could play for GB in the 7s if he wanted to and they were interested, for example.0 -
The Squad is set in stone in that it will come from players already within the extended 7s set up and players who havent been playing and training with the 7s set up for the last few months will not be picked.d
ah will you stop. im at work right...you love an original thought i see. parroting syd.
you're wrong about the idea that the 12 is set in stone. they bloody named two squads for a repechange in June. Christ.
yeah i get that. but these pros played bloody sevens in the last year or so. stop painting me as being crazy for pointing out factual info. christ on a ****ing bike. i gave you the link to the squad. https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/irelands-top-young-rugby-talent-line-up-for-irfu-academy-7s-tournament-39628660.html heres some lads who have experience for example recently enough. they were/are clearly considering Kendellan, Smith and one or two other lads.
Norton signed a short term deal. must be over now
heres a good article -
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/aug/25/sevens-star-dan-norton-we-gave-10-years-to-the-rfu-it-was-gutting
thew whole point is there was a furore already over the contracts. after the olympics its only going to get more messy. in some sense maybe qualifying was the easy part for the programme.
yeah they were looked at and cut. And as the case with Balacloune (who was also cut according to him) they can sometimes fess up to mistakes. doesn't mean they were given a real shot. as i'll repeat again for posterity Peter Smyth head of elite player development for the IRFU highly rates TK as a 15s player.
i'll give you a few guesses as to why Dan Norton and English rugby isn't comparable to Ireland.
I dont think 7s is easier way to get into the sport as it is so different to 15s and wont get huge amount more playing 15s. 10s would do more as its more like 15s in structure....Squidgy Black wrote: »I don't think it will to be honest, the appetite isn't there for it.
You could argue that it's an easier way to get into the sport, particularly in the likes of schools and other areas that wouldn't be traditional rugby backgrounds, but the funding and the demand hasn't really increased significantly, to the point that there's any return for unions to do it without going bust. 15s will always be the money maker and as a result get more attention.
7s hasnt ever really helped get many more into clubs.
Of course its good for rugby union if more countries look at 7s and even focus on it as it will have a knock on effect on 15s in the long term. Kenya do have amazing players but theyre location and finances are very different to USA, Canada where the support would be for both 7s and 15s.no i think you misunderstand me. I know all that.
i mean in terms of what i was saying earlier.i meant more for other for other countries. Its not necessarily a good thing for rugby union if countries focus more on sevens. Kenya look like they have genuinely amazing players. its a shame its basically the same argument as COnroy. Oh but they're only sevens players etc. which leads to the seperation of the sports. and we lose genuine talent.
i think its the whole point of the irish sevens and why the IRFU mistrusted it for so long.
is there a dangrer of it becoming a second sport? and to answer my own question, imo yes there is. its techinaclly easier, less people needed, more exciting (not for me) etc0 -
As an aside , the Dutch rugby union bankrupted itself by trying and failing to get their women’s sevens team into the Olympics.
Not sure what the plan was really. Maybe the Olympics gives it some credibility and exposure in smaller rugby nations.0 -
Lost Ormond wrote: »The Squad is set in stone in that it will come from players already within the extended 7s set up and players who havent been playing and training with the 7s set up for the last few months will not be picked.
I dont think 7s is easier way to get into the sport as it is so different to 15s and wont get huge amount more playing 15s. 10s would do more as its more like 15s in structure....
7s hasnt ever really helped get many more into clubs.
Of course its good for rugby union if more countries look at 7s and even focus on it as it will have a knock on effect on 15s in the long term. Kenya do have amazing players but theyre location and finances are very different to USA, Canada where the support would be for both 7s and 15s.
fair enough, yeah not coming from outside. sorry i thought you were ignoring that point. as in they have looked at guys like Turner, Kendellan very recently. i wonder is there any player cheeky enough to at least ask ala sonny bill. like if it wasn't 5 weeks, i'd guess we'd hear more about it. but its too short a window, so case closed. only Keenan and Larmour would have the wheels i'd guess.
it probably is easier hence why you'd have alot of "fun days" being sevens. fitness wise/skills wise yeah its unforgiving. but technically its completely different and doesn't have the same disadvantages for new players. the rucks are far more forgiving and the scrums, lineouts etc. rugby is hugely technical and a barrier to new countries.
i disagree. i think you're not going to expand the sport from its current base without much more tie in. if its treated so sperately ala england than its not good for 15s. it baffles me how people who say oh its so different that it doesn't mean anything in terms of crossover, then say but yes this is good for the 15s game.
Like you could never have 15s at the Olympics. But some mantain 10s is the better game. is having a sport so different that people can dismiss TK and JC out of hand due to differences in games, a positive for growth. Imo, no it is not. Only Russia have managed to do something in both in terms of minnows.0 -
yeah he's only one judge. i told you Smyth has a different opinion. another astute judge of player. thats sport, thats life. fair enough.
Pinch of salt, whatever. I stand by that. i was overly harsh but he's not big enough to become a top class lock imo.
they were quick, i no longer think thats the case sadly enough. BOD has done abdsolutely nothing to garner such praise. People were going on about Paapli as well. he's turned out to be a disaster. so i wouldn't be putting much into friends moneyball signings. Porch has been good.
Smyth is only one judge too and with the greatest respect we don’t know what he thinks. If he said that to you it might have been merely polite, he’s hardly going to slam any player in conversation. If he thought sufficiently highly of him he could have probably got him an academy spot.
Again Connacht made two sevens signings - one has been one of the best signings in years and one has come back from a long term injury and had some decent games, can only be fairly judged at end of next season.
I don’t know what you are talking about Connacht no longer being willing to try unproven players -this season Murray Prendergast have gotten substantial game time, McNulty got couple of run outs and senior contract, Colm Reilly made his debut, Peter O’Sullivan got a decent amount of games coming from AIL.0 -
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Hopefully my comment does just get buried under pages of petty squabbling...
Honestly folks. We just qualified for the Olympics. Can we ride the crest of this wave for at least 24 hours before if descends into usual boards.ie form
To a man, those 12 (plus Mark Roche) were unbelievable. They all stepped up ready for what was thrown at them. They're well coached, well drilled, fit, skillful and you could see they wanted this more than anything they have ever wanted.
While Kennedy and Conroy are the superstars I need to start by praising Harry McNulty. He is one of the OGs of the program and has been an absolute rock for them every single tournament for years. I was delighted to see him get a pro contract in LA living the life but was equally devastated for him that his sevens journey seemed over. Then to see him come back in and have a crack at it was just lovely to see. He strikes me as a genuinely good person and it's pretty clear he's an integral part to the culture of that team.
Staying on McNulty, he arrived back from LA looking a lot bigger and fitter than I remember him being. He was physical and it was a great benefit as he dominated a lot of contact which Ireland thrived on. His ability to win lineout ball and retain restarts was easily as important as the 18(?) tries scored by the 2 fliers.
I thought the other forwards were excellent. Kelly and Horan have really nice contrasting styles and played off each other so effectively. Kelly has a phenomenal step and left some of the lads dead.
I though Greg O'Shea was decent. His link play for Kennedy and Conroy was good but the passing was a bit ropey and decision making was suspect at times. These are things Gavin Mullen has always been strong at so I can see why he was initially picked ahead of him. But credit where it is due he filled his role well.
Billy Dardis needs to take a bow. His conversions were jaw droppingly accurate. He just nailed them over from outside the tramlines off both feet. That is a skill not a lot of people have. Combine that with his ability to drop a restart through a basketball hoop and you've a serious weapon. His interview at the end was just fantastic. He spoke so well and you could see what it meant. So many of these post match interviews are just stock questions with stock answers. To show the emotion was such a nice thing to see.
A commentator said that Conroy had put on 5kgs in the off season. I'd wager it was closer to 10. He looked absolutely massive compared to last time out. And has lost absolutely none of his pace. He is unfairly quick. It's like having a real life cheat code. One of his tries against France, he shot a gap that on the TV angle looked like it was never on. Backed himself to thread the needle and absolutely nailed it. He has clearly worked on the contact side of things recently. Not only has his defence notably improved, but how he takes the ball into contact is much stronger now. Full credit to him.
Terry Kennedy for me is the super star of that team. I know Conroy has gotten the plaudits and the highlight reels but Terry has the most complete skillset of anyone in that team. He is deceptively quick - up there with Conroy, he's an excellent passer and distributer, shrewd defender and a serious eye for the gap. If I only had to watch one thing for the rest of my life, it would be that behind the back offload. A stunning piece of improvised skill.
I'm just delighted for these guys. I've followed their journey for a number of years and to see them excel just fills me with happiness. They are a tight knit group of down to earth lads with a great culture and a few quirks.
I hope they go well in Tokyo0 -
arsebiscuits1 wrote: »Hopefully my comment does just get buried under pages of petty squabbling...
Honestly folks. We just qualified for the Olympics. Can we ride the crest of this wave for at least 24 hours before if descends into usual boards.ie form
To a man, those 12 (plus Mark Roche) were unbelievable. They all stepped up ready for what was thrown at them. They're well coached, well drilled, fit, skillful and you could see they wanted this more than anything they have ever wanted.
While Kennedy and Conroy are the superstars I need to start by praising Harry McNulty. He is one of the OGs of the program and has been an absolute rock for them every single tournament for years. I was delighted to see him get a pro contract in LA living the life but was equally devastated for him that his sevens journey seemed over. Then to see him come back in and have a crack at it was just lovely to see. He strikes me as a genuinely good person and it's pretty clear he's an integral part to the culture of that team.
Staying on McNulty, he arrived back from LA looking a lot bigger and fitter than I remember him being. He was physical and it was a great benefit as he dominated a lot of contact which Ireland thrived on. His ability to win lineout ball and retain restarts was easily as important as the 18(?) tries scored by the 2 fliers.
I thought the other forwards were excellent. Kelly and Horan have really nice contrasting styles and played off each other so effectively. Kelly has a phenomenal step and left some of the lads dead.
I though Greg O'Shea was decent. His link play for Kennedy and Conroy was good but the passing was a bit ropey and decision making was suspect at times. These are things Gavin Mullen has always been strong at so I can see why he was initially picked ahead of him. But credit where it is due he filled his role well.
Billy Dardis needs to take a bow. His conversions were jaw droppingly accurate. He just nailed them over from outside the tramlines off both feet. That is a skill not a lot of people have. Combine that with his ability to drop a restart through a basketball hoop and you've a serious weapon. His interview at the end was just fantastic. He spoke so well and you could see what it meant. So many of these post match interviews are just stock questions with stock answers. To show the emotion was such a nice thing to see.
A commentator said that Conroy had put on 5kgs in the off season. I'd wager it was closer to 10. He looked absolutely massive compared to last time out. And has lost absolutely none of his pace. He is unfairly quick. It's like having a real life cheat code. One of his tries against France, he shot a gap that on the TV angle looked like it was never on. Backed himself to thread the needle and absolutely nailed it. He has clearly worked on the contact side of things recently. Not only has his defence notably improved, but how he takes the ball into contact is much stronger now. Full credit to him.
Terry Kennedy for me is the super star of that team. I know Conroy has gotten the plaudits and the highlight reels but Terry has the most complete skillset of anyone in that team. He is deceptively quick - up there with Conroy, he's an excellent passer and distributer, shrewd defender and a serious eye for the gap. If I only had to watch one thing for the rest of my life, it would be that behind the back offload. A stunning piece of improvised skill.
I'm just delighted for these guys. I've followed their journey for a number of years and to see them excel just fills me with happiness. They are a tight knit group of down to earth lads with a great culture and a few quirks.
I hope they go well in Tokyo
yeah well said. i apologise for arguing. i meant it as a positive, as in these guys are amazing rugby players. I'm a clubmate of Terry, very good friends with his cousin. So i'm a little biased. But it comes from a good place.
it was amazing seeing them do it. hair on the backl of the neck stuff. it will be even more amazing seeing them play in the olympics. as a man who loves Rugby, it will great getting the barstool fans involved. It could genuinely be a gamechanger for Irish Rugby. It could encourage loads of kids to take up rugby or GAA players decide to have a crack and break those barriers. Bernard Jackman saw this as a negative. thats a positive.
you're right Dardis' conversions were the winning of the game really. it gave us breathing room.
i'd say 10kg is right. he looks an aboslute beast. cheat code is athe best description ever. he scored a few of those in his buccs days.
as i said, these lads have dedicated most of their lives to Irish rugby, be it academy or AIL, so fair play to them. i wish them all the best. people say we can't medal? i mean GB man for man aren't that much better and got silver. we have a great chance if draw is favourable.0 -
What's the format in the Olympics? It's only 12 teams, instead of the 16 at World Series legs, so playing three group games just to eliminate four teams and get quarter-finalists doesn't make as much sense.
I seem to remember it being more cut-throat in Rio 2016. The Americans lost a game or two and were gone, and NZ lost to Japan and were out.0 -
TheAnalyst_ wrote: »As an aside , the Dutch rugby union bankrupted itself by trying and failing to get their women’s sevens team into the Olympics.
Not sure what the plan was really. Maybe the Olympics gives it some credibility and exposure in smaller rugby nations.
Some countries allocate their funding on whether the sports has an Olympic presence apparently, presumably the Dutch gambled on getting increased funding if they made it.
Anyhow, the Dutch men's 15 just qualified for the second tier of European rugby and are playing Georgia this weekend, afaik, in their first game at that level, so it's actually a fairly good time for Dutch rugby on the pitch, atm. No idea if they are screwed off the pitch tbf, last I heard they were hoping to launch a joint club league with Belgium to improve the standard of their club game.0 -
Richie_Rich89 wrote: »What's the format in the Olympics? It's only 12 teams, instead of the 16 at World Series legs, so playing three group games just to eliminate four teams and get quarter-finalists doesn't make as much sense.
I seem to remember it being more cut-throat in Rio 2016. The Americans lost a game or two and were gone, and NZ lost to Japan and were out.
3 groups of 4 so yeah its 3 group games to eliminate 4 sides. As its Olympics and there's 3 medals on offer it allows more sides an opportunity to potentially medal.0 -
Lost Ormond wrote: »3 groups of 4 so yeah its 3 group games to eliminate 4 sides. As its Olympics and there's 3 medals on offer it allows more sides an opportunity to potentially medal.
Hmmm, so looking at the Rio results, they'll pretty much have to win two out of three group games to make the last 8.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_sevens_at_the_2016_Summer_Olympics
Japan and South Korea are probably the two weakest teams, so it would help to draw one of them. Although I suppose you never know with a team pumped up on their own patch. Careful what you wish for stuff, maybe. It'd be good to get South Korea anyway.0 -
Dutch league isnt a bad standard all the same. Have a few friends who played a couple of seasons over there but mainly dominated by sides who have lot of expats around Amsterdam, Hilversum, Gooi.Deleted User wrote: »Some countries allocate their funding on whether the sports has an Olympic presence apparently, presumably the Dutch gambled on getting increased funding if they made it.
Anyhow, the Dutch men's 15 just qualified for the second tier of European rugby and are playing Georgia this weekend, afaik, in their first game at that level, so it's actually a fairly good time for Dutch rugby on the pitch, atm. No idea if they are screwed off the pitch tbf, last I heard they were hoping to launch a joint club league with Belgium to improve the standard of their club game.
A lot of the clubs there play Belgian sides a lot anyway so a joint league makes senseRichie_Rich89 wrote: »Hmmm, so looking at the Rio results, they'll pretty much have to win two out of three group games to make the last 8.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_sevens_at_the_2016_Summer_Olympics
Japan and South Korea are probably the two weakest teams, so it would help to draw one of them. Although I suppose you never know with a team pumped up on their own patch. Careful what you wish for stuff, maybe. It'd be good to get South Korea anyway.
The draw is seeded so unlikely we will get one of them.0 -
Lost Ormond wrote: »Dutch league isnt a bad standard all the same. Have a few friends who played a couple of seasons over there but mainly dominated by sides who have lot of expats around Amsterdam, Hilversum, Gooi.
A lot of the clubs there play Belgian sides a lot anyway so a joint league makes sense.
Yeah, the Dutch seem to be proactive on growing rugby while also realistic about how big it can get there. I read an interview with their captain recently who was pretty clear about what was realistic for their team and the sport there generally. (No far flung ideas like joining the 6 nations or playing in the Pro 16/URC for example). i hope they make a go of it. I was surprised to read here that they are seemingly bankrupt. (Unlike the Germans, alas, who, afaik, are still in trouble over the falling out with Stade's owner)0 -
Lost Ormond wrote: »The draw is seeded so unlikely we will get one of them.
I was thinking that after I posted. Do we know how that works yet?
maybe something like:
1st seeds: Fiji, SA, NZ
2nd seeds: GB&NI, Australia, US
3rd seeds: Argentina, Canada, Ireland
4th seeds: Japan, Kenya, South Korea
Ireland did finish ahead of Kenya in the most recent World Series, after all. But maybe the African qualifier is held to be more prestigious than the last repechage event.
Maybe Japan will be given a higher seeding to give them a better chance at home.0 -
Richie_Rich89 wrote: »I was thinking that after I posted. Do we know how that works yet?
maybe something like:
1st seeds: Fiji, SA, NZ
2nd seeds: GB&NI, Australia, US
3rd seeds: Argentina, Canada, Ireland
4th seeds: Japan, Kenya, South Korea
Ireland did finish ahead of Kenya in the most recent World Series, after all. But maybe the African qualifier is held to be more prestigious than the last repechage event.
Maybe Japan will be given a higher seeding to give them a better chance at home.
FTFY0 -
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Richie_Rich89 wrote: »Explain how.
It's a Great Britain Team, they have no Irish players in their squad.
We have an Ireland team that encompasses Northern Ireland.
The Irish 7's team is part of the IRFU. The IRFU is an all-island union.0 -
Hopefully its not an issue but would be interesting to see the ins and outs of how you can qualify for Team GB v Ireland. You would assume being capped by Ireland would block you switching for the Olympics?
The hockey team has a few examples of guys switching from Ireland to Team GB but they qualified for England first on residency before being picked by GB. Hockey doesnt appear to block you switching nations once capped by one once you are qualified to represent your new nation. The Gleghorne Brothers is an interesting example of that (both Irish capped, one played the Olympics for Ireland, the other for GB having swapped Ireland for England). But it doesnt really answer the question whether someone capped can turn around 5 weeks before and say they want to represent GB now0 -
"While England was the team that qualified Great Britain for the 2016 Olympics, the Great Britain national rugby sevens team is able to select players from Wales and Scotland as well as England similar to the British and Irish Lions in rugby union. Northern Irish players according to the British Olympic Association's rules as British citizens would have been eligible to play for Great Britain; however the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) announced that Northern Ireland players would represent the Ireland national rugby sevens team as rugby in Ireland is organised on an All-Ireland basis. However, it was stated that Northern Irish and Ulster contracted players could legally challenge that determination, particularly if Ireland failed to qualify"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Britain_national_rugby_sevens_team#Eligibility0 -
Jump_In_Jack wrote: »It's a Great Britain Team, they have no Irish players in their squad.
We have an Ireland team that encompasses Northern Ireland.
The Irish 7's team is part of the IRFU. The IRFU is an all-island union.
Isn't golf all-island under the GUI? McIlroy famously had to decide which flag he would play under with the Olympics (until the Zica thing made the decision go away).0 -
hirondelle wrote: »Isn't golf all-island under the GUI? McIlroy famously had to decide which flag he would play under with the Olympics (until the Zica thing made the decision go away).
It was a high-profile case, but different sport different rules.
Nobody seems to bother about this rule in rugby, it's Team Ireland and Team Great Britain in rugby 7's.
Has been like that all through qualification, so not going to change the rules now.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/9722224/Rio-2016-Olympics-only-one-berth-for-England-Wales-and-Scotland-to-qualify-GB-team.html
"It is understood that Ulster players who are contracted to the IRFU will not be considered although they would be free to contest that decision legally if they felt strongly enough about it. Olympic eligibility is passport based and a number of Ulster players who represent Ireland are UK passport holders."0 -
Being capped by Ireland wouldnt block you from switching for Olympics.Hopefully its not an issue but would be interesting to see the ins and outs of how you can qualify for Team GB v Ireland. You would assume being capped by Ireland would block you switching for the Olympics?
The hockey team has a few examples of guys switching from Ireland to Team GB but they qualified for England first on residency before being picked by GB. Hockey doesnt appear to block you switching nations once capped by one once you are qualified to represent your new nation. The Gleghorne Brothers is an interesting example of that (both Irish capped, one played the Olympics for Ireland, the other for GB having swapped Ireland for England). But it doesnt really answer the question whether someone capped can turn around 5 weeks before and say they want to represent GB now
There is several players who have changed through loophole of standing down from international level for 3 years
5 weeks out no they couldnt. wouldnt be picked anyway but you can switch0 -
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Jump_In_Jack wrote: »It's a Great Britain Team, they have no Irish players in their squad.
We have an Ireland team that encompasses Northern Ireland.
The Irish 7's team is part of the IRFU. The IRFU is an all-island union.
It's still a UK team. If there were no sportspeople from one of England, Scotland, Wales or NI on the team in a certain sport it wouldn't change the fact that they are representing GB&NI. What the IRFU do or say is irrelevant."While England was the team that qualified Great Britain for the 2016 Olympics, the Great Britain national rugby sevens team is able to select players from Wales and Scotland as well as England similar to the British and Irish Lions in rugby union. Northern Irish players according to the British Olympic Association's rules as British citizens would have been eligible to play for Great Britain; however the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) announced that Northern Ireland players would represent the Ireland national rugby sevens team as rugby in Ireland is organised on an All-Ireland basis. However, it was stated that Northern Irish and Ulster contracted players could legally challenge that determination, particularly if Ireland failed to qualify"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Britain_national_rugby_sevens_team#Eligibility
The IRFU making a unilateral statement really has very little relevance. If a British citizen from Northern Ireland wanted to represent team GB then there is nothing the IRFU could do to stop it. Of course, it would damage such an individual's chances of getting an IRFU contract later on. But that's a separate matter.0
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