It was a slightly diluted Olympic debut for the Ireland Men’s Sevens team in 2021, as their historic qualification through the Repechage route meant a much shorter preparation period than their opponents in Japan. There were just five weeks between qualifying in Monaco and Ireland’s first Olympic game, leaving them playing catch-up against the likes of pool rivals, South Africa and the USA, who had secured their Olympic places over 12 months prior. This time around, Topping’s side have had the benefit of a full year to prepare for Paris 2024 after winning the European Games, the regional qualifier for the Olympics, in Krakow last summer .
Brilliantly consistent throughout the recent HSBC SVNS Series, they intend on mounting a strong medal challenge over the coming weeks, with Irish fans set to travel in big numbers, and a massive global TV audience watching each match. With France star Antoine Dupont one of the faces of the Games, and more eyeballs on Rugby Sevens than ever before, Topping said: “Yeah, it’s certainly grown, and I think for us guys who went to the last Tokyo Olympics, there were no crowds and it was a bit of a short lead-in, so they didn’t get a full experience. “We’re training hard to try and get a medal but we also have to deal with everything else which goes with that.
The players worked really hard all year, the whole squad, and I think they deserve a bit of exposure. “I think they deserve that wee bit of time in the limelight because the.