British & Irish Lions
• What did the South Africans ever do for us?
Poor opening for the Sevens team
The Ireland Sevens team is currently in Dubai as they wrap up the IRB World Sevens Series. Today saw the opening day of the competition and Ireland took on Samoa.
The Irish scored a try in the second minute of the game thanks to the efforts of Brain Tuohy and no doubt they thought this might be a sign of things to come. Nothing could have been further from the truth as the final whistle revealed that these were going to be the only points they scored in the entire game.
The Samoan side was just too impressive for the Irish and this is perhaps not surprising as they do focus a lot on the Sevens format of the game. But they completely outclassed Ireland eventually scoring five tries (all of which were converted by Lolo Lui) to take the game 35-5.
When looking back at the game, the team’s captain Keiran Campbell stated that they had been a bit soft at times and this let them down, despite the fact that they worked hard. They take on Australia and Portugal tomorrow and will hope for better results.
IRELAND: Kyle Tonetti (Blackrock College – Leinster), James Coughlan (Dolphin – Munster), Paul Marshall (Belfast Harlequins – Ulster), Brian Carney (Clonakilty – Munster), Brian Tuohy (Cornish Pirates), Daniel Riordan (Buccaneers – Connacht), Gary Brown (Blackrock College – Leinster).
Replacements: Eoghan Grace (Shannon – Munster), Kieran Campbell (Galwegians – Connacht), Felix Jones (Old Belvedere – Leinster), Conan Doyle (Garryowen – Munster), Tom Gleeson (Cork Constitution – Munster).
SAMOA: Ofisa Treviranus, Alafoti Faosiliva, Afa Aiono, Uale Mai, Lolo Lui, Jerry Meafou, Rupena Levasa.
Replacements: Simaika Mikaele, Apelu Fa’aiuga, Etuale Pitone, Alatasi Tupou, Morgan Salesa.
Referee: Marcelo Pilara (Argentina)