Ireland seal place in HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020 with win in Men's Qualifiers

Ireland came up with a clinical performance as they defeated hosts Hong Kong 28-7 to clinch the final of the Men's Qualifiers and progress to the 2020 edition of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

The win has set up by a dominating first half where Ireland scored 14 unanswered points following tries from Harry McNulty (3') and
Gregory O'Shea (8') and double conversions from Billy Dardis.

Jordan Conroy further extended Ireland's momentum with an early second half try while Terry Kennedy also touched down in the 14th minute that took their tally to 28 points before Thomas William McQueen scored a consolation try in the 13th minute as they succumbed to a 28-7 defeat.

“We're just delighted with this,” said captain Dardis after the game.

“It's been a long and hard road. I think that we all just stood on the pitch there and couldn't move. We're just speechless. It's class! It won't sink in for a couple of weeks.”

Earlier, Ireland dominated Pool F which they topped and defeated Russia 47-0 in the quarter-finals and Germany 10-19 in the semi-final to set up the final with Hong Kong.

Crazy scenes @IrishRugby celebrate winning the qualifiers and securing their place as a core team on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020 #HK7s pic.twitter.com/waPr1Sw1r2

— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) 7 April 2019