Close Menu
    Subscribe
    Rugby

    ‘That killed us’: The Ireland verdict on latest 7s semi-final loss

    adminBy No Comments4 Mins Read

    Frustration was writ large over the face of Terry Kennedy in the immediate aftermath of his team’s second successive HSBC SVNS semi-final loss to France.

    The French won the final four match 24-26 in Los Angeles, five weeks ago. However, there was no close ending in Hong Kong as the Irish lost 10-26; the game’s final play, a defiant Kennedy, was the source of their second touchdown.

    His side lost ground shortly before halftime due to a lack of composure on a steamy Sunday in the Far East. Following a converted try by Varan Pasquet, Ireland had the opportunity to take the lead after Zac Ward scored an unconverted try and Jordan Sepho was yellow-carded.

    However, they instead lost their bearings against the French six, Stephen Parez bursting through the defence to score a converted try in front of the South Stand fanatics to make 5-12.

    The semi-final result was then put to bed by two quick-fire second-half tries from Antoine Zeghdar and Joachim Trouabal, leaving Ireland playing for the consolation they eventually grabbed through Kennedy racing onto a kick through to the corner.

    “We’ll always play to the end,” he told RugbyPass. “We are probably one of the best if not the best at staying in games. That’s what was so disappointing about that one – it was over with a few minutes to go but we will keep fighting until the end as always.”

    What was mentioned in the stadium tunnel debrief about what had gone wrong? “Our kick-offs really let us down. They dominated the air on both sides of the ball. That cost us; we gave a couple of really easy scores.

    “Once we got it through phases we were defending really well, and the couple of times we had the ball we scored, but we just gave them too much easy ball off kick-offs.

    “It [kick-offs] has been good for us so it is pretty disappointing, but France are a big team. They are good in the air so it is a strength of theirs and something we need to work on.

    “We were never really in that,” he added concerning the scoreboard compared to the two-point gap on the American west coast at the start of March. “We had a chance when we came back two points behind, they got a yellow card and we let them a soft score before half-time with six men. Really, that killed us. Lots to learn.”

    Lessons, yes, but plenty of cause for optimism that a season that will culminate in the HSBC SVNS Series final in Madrid followed by an appearance at the Paris Olympics in July.

    “100 per cent. We made a lot of semi-finals this year, just struggling to go that little extra mile but a few more big ones coming up yet with the Olympics at the end. We’re still striving.

    “We are well capable of beating anyone and we have beaten everyone this year and most teams multiple times. So yeah, we’re right up there, we’re nearly there. They [France] have some amazing athletes and they are tough to play against. They are going to be there or thereabouts in every tournament from here on in, I say.”

    Ireland went on in LA to beat Spain 24-7 to finish in third place and this latest semi-final loss to France left them with another third-place play-off, this time versus Australia.

    Before that game took place, Kennedy ended his semi-final reflection by paying tribute to the final tournament at the stadium in Hong Kong Island before it switches to a brand new ground across the bay in 2025.

    “It’s unbelievable. This is the best place to play in the world. The crowd is unbelievable. All you have to do is come out here 9am Saturday and you see the South Stand full and people enjoying themselves.

    “It’s amazing to get to play in front of this type of crowd in an iconic stadium. We love it.”

     

    Share.

    Related Posts

    Leave A Reply