An historic few days for Irish 7s and Irish rugby as a whole have come to an end, with both the men's and women's squads producing massive and unprecedented results in Toulouse.
It began with the men's side beating South Africa for the first time, and ended with the women taking fourth place overall in the World Series, their best ever result.
The men also reached their first ever World Series final, while individuals such as Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe and Terry Kennedy received impressive individual honours.
Toulouse Lowdown
Ireland's men began their tournament in phenomenal fashion with their victory over the South Africans, who were leading the overall standings coming into the tournament.
At the fore once again was Terry Kennedy who scored two tries in the 21-12 win, while he also won the Irish Rugby 7s Players Player of the Year for a third year in a row on Wednesday.
Kennedy would finish as the player of the tournament, while he also is the top try scorer in the World Series with 39.
Give him the space and he’ll make you pay ⚡
Terry Kennedy scores an excellent try as @IrishRugby secure a historic victory against South Africa@DHLRugby | #ImpactMoment | #France7s pic.twitter.com/jNrgmwTfCS— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) May 20, 2022
Ireland would finish second in their group, after a loss to Samoa and a win over Spain, and were pitted against Argentina in the quarter-finals.
A 14-0 victory ensued before defeating France in the semis and landing themselves a match against Fiji to take home the Toulouse crown.
Despite leading 12-7 early on, Fiji pulled away and ran out 29-17 winners. However, it will be seen as an extremely positive tournament having reached another milestone, and matching the women who reached their first final in Seville in January.
Ireland now lie fourth in the overall standings, with the London and Los Angeles legs still to play.
The man of the moment for @IrishRugby 🙌
Terry Kennedy weaves his way through the French defence to remain top try scorer of the series and lead Ireland to their first Cup Final!
@DHLRugby | #ImpactMoment pic.twitter.com/JkNtJ6gk4o— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) May 22, 2022
Play to the whistle ⏱
An insane last minute point scorer from Jordan Conroy reduces the gap for @IrishRugby!#HSBC7s | #France7s pic.twitter.com/bX8joV6C02— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) May 23, 2022
Fourth Place Finish And Dream Team For Murphy Crowe
The women’s side also had a promising start to their tournament, beating England 31-12.
While it is always a pleasant sight pulling off a victory against the old rivals from across the Irish sea, Ireland would have been expected to win.
Lucy Mulhall starred in the performance with a hat-trick of both tries and conversions, while Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe and Eve Higgins bagged one try each.
"She's been the architect of everything good for @IrishRugby"
Hat-trick hero @LucyMulhall gets the job done for her team in their day one opener in Toulouse#HSBC7s | #France7s pic.twitter.com/Vpbg3FT2IA— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) May 20, 2022
A win over Brazil and a loss to France gave them second place in their pool, and a quarter-final meeting with Canada.
A narrow 22-21 win sent them to the semis against Australia, the side who defeated them in the final of the Seville leg, however they were unable to exact revenge and suffered a heavy 40-7 loss.
Like the men, they also faced Fiji in their final game of the tournament and would also lose, in this case 26-10, giving them a fourth place finish.
Toulouse marked the end of the women's World Series, with Ireland finishing in their best ever position of fourth, and Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe finishing as top try scorer and being named on the World Series Dream Team for the 2021/22 season.
A close contest but Eve Higgins gets the final try to send @IrishRugby through to the semi-finals ☘️
@DHLRugby | #ImpactMoment pic.twitter.com/KxQwwT8crB— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) May 21, 2022
🤖 @ameeleigh95 is a T-R-Y Machine for @IrishRugby@GILBERT_RUGBY | #HSBC7s | #HSBC7sAwards pic.twitter.com/YOBvYKWOxg
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) May 23, 2022
Heady days indeed for Irish rugby and Irish 7s. Considering the progress both squads have made over the last number of years, a series win is a very realistic goal for the near future.
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