Olympic Sevens qualifier: Ireland stun France in final to book a spot in Tokyo
- Published
Jordan Conroy's two touchdowns against France brought his haul of tries in the tournament to 11
Ireland stunned favourites France 28-19 in the Olympic Sevens qualifier final in Monaco to book a place in Tokyo.
With only the winners qualifying, Jordan Conroy's two tries brought his tournament haul to 11 touchdowns.
Terry Kennedy's try gave Ireland an early lead before scores from Stephen Perez and Paulin Riva put France ahead.
But an incredible Conroy solo try helped Ireland lead and he soon ran in another before Harry McNulty's score made the game safe.
Ireland were late converts to the Sevens game and beating France - who were effectively on home territory - has to be regarded as a huge achievement.
Earning Tokyo spot 'something special' - Dardis
Ireland captain Billy Dardis, who kicked four conversions, said booking their Olympic Games spot was "something special".
"I thought we were out of it for a while in the first half when they had so much possession and then we got a few lucky bounces," said the Irish skipper.
"That's sevens. The bounce of the ball goes your way and to end up in the Olympics like that is just incredible.
"Guys in this squad have been in [provincial] academies and they've been let go and that's the twist in the tale for us all.
"We've done something incredible here. We've put ourselves on the map. We've put Irish Sevens on the map.
"It's only going to do wonders for Irish Sevens and for kids who are maybe going to start playing rugby after seeing us play at the Olympics."
Harry McNulty's late try made the game safe for the Irish
Sensational Conroy try changes game
The Irish got off to the perfect start as Kennedy scored after less than a minute as he won possession at the base of a ruck just outside the French 22 and charged down the left wing to score.
However, France hit back to move into a 12-7 lead by the end of opening seven-minute half as Perez's score was followed immediately by Riva's touchdown after dangerman Antoine Zeghdar had soared to win the restart.
After the game resumed, France looked to be poised to inflict more damage on the Irish but the contest turned in an instant as a loose ball was quickly delivered to Conroy who showed astonishing acceleration to run all the way from his own 10-metre line to score.
Captain Dardis' second successful conversion put Ireland 14-12 ahead and it quickly got even better for the Irish as Kennedy, as he did on some many occasions over the weekend, set up Conroy for another touchdown.
Even with little more than two minutes left, a 21-12 lead is by no means secure in the Sevens game but the contest was then put to bed as veteran Irish player McNulty strode through unchallenged for their fourth try.
French captain Jean Pascal Barraque notched the final score of the game but it was too late for the favourites as their Olympic dreams lay in ruins amid joyous Irish celebrations.
'I can't believe we actually did it' - Conroy
Match winner Conroy admitted that he was stunned by Ireland's triumph.
"I can't believe we actually did it. All that work finally paid off," said the 27-year-old, who while impressing for the Ireland Sevens team since 2016, his provincial experience has been confined to appearances for Connacht's second team in the British and Irish Cup.
His almost telepathic understanding with Kennedy was central to Ireland's Monaco triumph.
"When they are marking me, he'll do the fancy footwork, the little sidesteps and it's really hard to defend against. I'd say we're a nightmare to play against," added Conroy, who played club rugby for Athlone-based club Buccaneers in the All-Ireland League before it was halted last year because of the global pandemic.
First thing on Sunday, Ireland had secured top spot in Pool A to reach their semi-finals by beating Samoa 21-7 before two Conroy scores and tries from Foster Horan and McNulty helped them overcome Hong Kong 28-5 in the semi-finals.
France's favouritism was only increased by their 31-0 semi-final victory over the Samoans but they were to be undone by the Irish in the decider.
Kennedy scored eight tries in Ireland's Pool A wins on Saturday as they overcame Zimbabwe [31-10], Mexico [31-0] and Tonga [43-0] in dominant fashion, with Ulster's Aaron Sexton getting some action for the Irish in the day one contests.