Irish to face Sevens hosts in Dubai

IRELAND face tournament hosts, the Arabian Gulf, in the Rugby World Cup Sevens Bowl quarter-finals today after a Friday of mixed of emotions in Dubai.

The Irish began yesterday’s programme with a sensational victory over Australia (24-21) but all their hard work was undone when they were defeated by Portugal (17-5) in the final group game.

That result, coupled with scoring averages, left Ireland a disappointing fourth and bottom of Pool D.

In the morning outing, John Skurr’s side raced into a 17-0 lead against Australia with tries from Felix Jones, Paul Marshall and Brian Carney and a conversion from Tom Gleeson.

The Aussies were thrown a lifeline when James Coughlan was yellow-carded for an early tackle at a restart. Harry Vanderglas, Luke Morahan, and Damon Murphy all touched down with Richard Kingi adding the extras to give Australia a 21-17 lead. But Ireland hit back with a try made by Coughlan and finished by replacement Gary Brown which Gleeson converted for a sensational win.

Skurr said: “Our performance against Australia set a bench mark. We came here to perform at the highest level and I think what we achieved against Australia shows their commitment. We beat Australia because we had four big restarts and basically denied them the ball. We were more comfortable against Australia than against Portugal.”

Portugal, one of the top European teams in sevens rugby, withstood a testing examination from the Irish to record a 12 points win in the afternoon clash. The sides were level at the break (5-5) with a try from Ulster scrum half Paul Marshall matching a score for Portugal by Tiago Girao. But Portugal took control on the restart with further tries by Aderito Esteves and David Mateus and a conversion by Pedro Leal.

“I think our lack of experience showed against Portugal,” admitted the coach. “They exploited that. We’re on a learning curve. We have to learn how to respect the ball and keep hold of it. But I’m proud of the way the boys played.”

IRELAND SEVENS SQUAD: G Brown (Blackrock College, Leinster), K Campbell (Galwegians, Connacht) (capt), B Carney (Clonakilty, Munster), J Coughlan (Dolphin, Munster), C Doyle (Garryowen, Munster), T Gleeson (Cork Constitution, Munster), E Grace (Shannon, Munster), F Jones (Old Belvedere, Leinster), P Marshall (Belfast Harlequins, Ulster), D Riordan (Buccaneers, Connacht), K Tonetti (Blackrock College, Leinster), B Tuohy (Cornish Pirates)