Live

OTB Gold

01:00 PM-02:00 PM

OTB Gold
Advertisement
Rugby

‘It has been an emotional week’ | Anthony Eddy on qualifying for the Olympics

Ireland Sevens head coach Anthony Eddy praised his team’s resolve on defence as they beat Franc...



‘It has been an emotional week...
Rugby

‘It has been an emotional week’ | Anthony Eddy on qualifying for the Olympics

Ireland Sevens head coach Anthony Eddy praised his team’s resolve on defence as they beat France to qualify for the Olympics on Sunday.

Just two years ago, Ireland were not even a core team on the HSBC Sevens World Series, and now they are heading to Tokyo for a chance at winning gold.

Speaking to media after his side beat France 28-19 in the Qualifier final in Monaco, Eddy explained what it meant to bring this team to the Olympics for the first time.

“It has been a fairly emotional weekend, actually,” Eddy said. “I think we came here knowing that the boys were always capable of achieving what they achieved in the last game.

“Obviously you have got to get through another five games to get to where we got to in the final, and they are all different challenges.

“The boys, the whole team, everybody fronted up, especially on day two, and did what they had to do. I am just delighted for them.

“They have worked full well. I have been here six years and they have worked tirelessly to get to where they are as of tonight.

“Heading to the Olympics in four weeks’ time is an exceptional achievement and it is well deserved.”

Ireland Sevens Olympics Adam Leavy of Ireland in action against Zimbabwe during the match between Ireland and Zimbabwe on day two of the World Rugby Sevens Repechage at the Stade Louis II in Monaco, Monaco. Photo by Giorgio Perottino - World Rugby via Sportsfile

France led the final 12-5 at half time, after applying a lot of pressure on the Irish line for a good portion of the first half.

Despite being down at half time, Eddy knew that his men were capable of taking the victory, especially after their impressive defensive showing to keep France out for almost three minutes.

“I didn’t have to say much [at half time],” Eddy said. “They said it themselves, they knew they were in a really good position and they worked extremely hard defensively, and got themselves through a good block.

“They grew a great deal of confidence around that defence for about two and a half minutes in the first half, and we were fairly composed at half time.

“We talked about just trying to control possession and continue to put them under pressure with our defence.

“We knew there was going to be some dirty ball to pick up, and we managed to do that and capitalise on a couple of their mistakes.”

Team of Us. Everyone In.

Vodafone. The main sponsor of the Irish Rugby Team

Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!

Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.


Read more about

Anthony Eddy Greg O'Shea Ireland Ireland Sevens Jordan Conroy Olympics Poland Sevens Tokyo Tokyo 2020

Live: Title

Description

Added to queue
Removed from queue

On Air

Share

Share

Next up in queue

Title
Description
Duration

There are currently no podcasts in the queue

Go to podcasts

On Air

OTB Gold

OTB Gold

01:00 PM-02:00 PM

Share

Up next

Highlights on Off The Ball

Highlights on Off The Ball

02:00 PM-05:00 PM

Share

LIVE: Wednesday Night Rugby

LIVE: Wednesday Night Rugby

05:00 PM-06:00 PM

Share

OTB Gold

OTB Gold

06:00 PM-07:00 PM

Share

LIVE: Newsround

LIVE: Newsround

07:00 PM-07:30 PM

Share

LIVE: Off The Ball

LIVE: Off The Ball

07:30 PM-08:00 PM

Share

LIVE: Wednesday Night Rugby

LIVE: Wednesday Night Rugby

08:00 PM-09:00 PM

Share

LIVE: The Football Show

LIVE: The Football Show

09:00 PM-10:00 PM

Share

Repeat: Off The Ball

Repeat: Off The Ball

10:00 PM-12:00 AM

Share

Repeat: OTB AM

Repeat: OTB AM

12:00 AM-02:00 AM

Share

Repeat: Off The Ball

Repeat: Off The Ball

02:00 AM-05:00 AM

Share

Repeat: OTB AM

Repeat: OTB AM

05:00 AM-07:00 AM

Share

Highlights on Off The Ball

Highlights on Off The Ball

07:00 AM-07:30 AM

Share

LIVE: OTB AM

LIVE: OTB AM

07:30 AM-10:00 AM

Share

Repeat: OTB AM

Repeat: OTB AM

10:00 AM-12:00 PM

Share

Highlights on Off The Ball

Highlights on Off The Ball

12:00 PM-01:00 PM

Share

OTB Gold

OTB Gold

01:00 PM-02:00 PM

Share

00:00:00 / 00:00:00

Share on