Ireland Sevens boss Anthony Eddy targeted qualification for Tokyo’s 2020 Olympics as the next step for the national men’s squad following its success at the annual World Series qualifier in Hong Kong yesterday. With their 28-7 tournament final victory over the hosts in front of 40,000 people at the Hong Kong Stadium, Ireland secured a place as one of 15 core teams on the 10-round HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020. “I think it gives the Ireland Sevens programme a real boost,” Eddy said. “We’ll definitely target London and Paris,” Eddy said, “they’re two great tournaments close to home as well, which makes things better. We’ve also got Olympic qualification through Rugby Europe after those tournaments so we’ll use those tournaments hopefully as good preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualification process.”

Source: Irish Examiner April 08, 2019 05:03 UTC