Just six years after embarking on a rollercoaster journey from the bottom tier of European Sevens Rugby the Ireland Men’s Sevens have qualified for this summer's Olympic Games.
That's after they beat France 28-19 in the World Rugby Sevens Repêchage final in Monaco on Sunday.
As the outright winners of the tournament, they take the 12th and final spot at this year's Tokyo Olympics.
They’ve only gone and done it 👊👊#TeamIreland just got a whole lot bigger ✈️
What a rollercoaster for #IreM7s who had one goal in mind #Tokyo2020 and they’ve done it. One spot up for grabs in the Olympic Repechage and #Ireland7s dominated ☘️☘️#NothingInOurWay 🏉 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/HZonFA6f1S
— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) June 20, 2021
Ireland trailed the French 12-7 at the break of the decider and it didn't look like it was going to be their day.
The French were particularly disciplined and well organised in terms of defence and they had come into this game having only conceded 12 points in the entire competition.
Anthony Eddy's side then put on an incredible performance after the break.
Two great tries from Jordan Conroy saw the contest turn in their favour before Harry McNulty got another late on in the game with less than three minutes left to play to put the result beyond any doubt.
Ireland beat Hong Kong 28-5 in their semi-final after topping their group with a 100% record.
The Olympic Men’s Rugby Sevens competition will take place from 26-28 July, with all the action taking place at Tokyo Stadium, which hosted the opening match of Rugby World Cup 2019.
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