Rio dream ‘wasn’t to be’ for women’s Sevens

The Olympic aspirations of the Ireland Women’s Sevens team came to an end yesterday, as they claimed a third-place finish at the Global Sevens Qualification Tournament at University College Dublin.

The Lucy Mulhall-led Irish recorded a 17-5 triumph over Kazakhstan in the Bronze Match in the penultimate encounter of the two-day rugby festival, but with just one team from the 16 in competition progressing to the Summer Games in Rio, it wasn’t to be for Anthony Eddy’s charges.

There was some solace for Ireland on the day, though, with third spot ensuring that they will be in next season’s World Series, and with this mind, Eddy revealed afterwards that he had mixed feelings about the tournament overall.