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Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation.
The performance of the Ireland 7s team at the London leg of the World Series was nothing short of spectacular. The standard of rugby in the World Sevens is incredibly high and at the Pool stage, invitational sides are routinely dispatched to the Challenge Trophy or 13th place playoff as cannon fodder. But not so Ireland at Twickenham.
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When they negotiated the Pool – just about as it happened – there were understandable murmurings of approval. When they put Pool topping USA to the sword in the Cup quarter-final, it was rightly received with raucous applause. But when Ireland edged England in the bonze playoff, the team wrote their names in the book of remarkable Irish sporting achievements.
And it might not be over yet, because it’s Paris this weekend for the Series finale and Ireland are once again the invitational side. If they can do the unthinkable, and back up their incredible performance in London, it will inevitably create a huge headache for the Sevens Series organisers.
Bear in mind that this Ireland squad have already missed out on qualification for the 2019 Seven Series, falling at the semi-final stage in the Hong Kong qualifier. This means the third-placed side from London are only able to submit themselves once again to a process, that may at best see them qualifying by 2020 -and for the Irish fan doesn’t feel quite good enough.
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But if Ireland perform in Paris too, surely in anyone’s book that’s far too long to wait. With an expanded Series in the four-year cycle beginning 2020, and Fiji probably joining the list of hosts some thoughts must already have turned to the prospect of a commercial windfall from a future Dublin leg.
When I talked to Seven Series Director Douglas Langley in Singapore in April, the commercial attraction of an Irish 7s team on the tour was far from lost on him.
But before London it was something that probably couldn’t be expedited outside the normal rules and procedures. London has changed things, and the question London posed could be answered by this Irish squad in Paris. Perform again this weekend, and they create a very strong argument for exploring options that bring Ireland into the Series on a full-time basis before 2020.
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That may mean expanding the number of teams, or disappointing someone currently involved. But if a team outside the premier tier can score a third spot in London, it’s clear that the current limited process of promotion and relegation hasn’t yet created an exclusive series of the absolute best. And that’s a problem for the World Series, and that’s the argument for change.
You know there’s never been a better time to be an Irish rugby fan and the popularity of rugby in Ireland is at an all-time high. Naturally we need to get Paris out of the way first – but the IRFU must be ready to move quickly and build support for a sensible answer to this new Irish Rugby Sevens question.
The shortest answer is doing the thing
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