Sevens lose to Portugal

The second day of the IRB Sevens event currently underway in Dubai was certainly one of mixed fortune for the Irish. After surprising Australia this morning with a victory, the Irish have disappointed this afternoon when they lost to Portugal.

This was the last of the pool games and perhaps one can put it down to the fact that Portugal had already lost both of their first two games. They seemed to want it more than Ireland did and they also do have a wealth of experience.

Both teams were a bit uncertain to begin with but a couple of errors by Ireland allowed Portugal to take advantage of the situation. They went on to score three tries in reply to only one by Ireland. This result means that Ireland have ended at the bottom of Pool D and they will take on hosts Arabian Gulf tomorrow.

IRELAND: Kyle Tonetti (Blackrock College – Leinster), James Coughlan (Dolphin – Munster), Paul Marshall (Belfast Harlequins – Ulster), Felix Jones (Old Belvedere – Leinster), Brian Carney (Clonakilty – Munster), Brian Tuohy (Cornish Pirates), Tom Gleeson (Cork Constitution – Munster).

Replacements: Eoghan Grace (Shannon – Munster), Kieran Campbell (Galwegians – Connacht), Conan Doyle (Garryowen – Munster), Daniel Riordan (Buccaneers – Connacht), Gary Brown (Blackrock College – Leinster).

PORTUGAL: Vasco Uva, Diogo Mateus, Tiago Girao, Pedro Leal, Joao Mirra, David Mateus, Goncalo Foro.

Replacements: Aderito Esteves, Pedro Cabral, Pedro Silva, Antonio Aguilar, Frederico Oliveira.

Referee: Jean-Luc Rebollal (France)

March 6th, 2009 | Posted in Ireland Rugby | No Comments »