Ireland’s men’s side have finished in the bottom two for the second time in as many HSBC SVNS Series events this season after another tough weekend. The Irish finished second-last at the first stop of the campaign in Dubai and they’re dealt a similar fate at SVNS Cape Town.
Following a tough loss to Australia on the second day of play at DHL Stadium, Ireland were left scraping it out with Uruguay in a bid to avoid the wooden spoon. But with the men in green down on cattle with only one sub providing rest and reprieve, it was always going to be tough.
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Paris Olympian Mark Roche crawled over for Ireland’s one and only try of the contest as they came from behind to level the score at 7-all. The match went to golden point, with Guillermo Lijtenstein’s effort in the 18th minute securing a second-last finish for the Uruguayans.
Ireland finished last and will go into the new year as the lowest-ranked side on the overall men’s standings. They’ll have another four more events to turn their season around as they fight to avoid a relegation playoff by qualifying for the World Championship event in Los Angeles.
The event in Cape Town was always going to be a tough one, but a new format made it even more difficult for all teams involved. The 12 men’s and women’s teams were spread across four pools instead of three, with the top-ranked side in each group qualifying for the final four.
To make the semi-finals, teams basically needed to go undefeated throughout their two pool stage fixtures, but Ireland were beaten 36-7 first up by hosts South Africa. Having been drawn in a pool of death, the Irish also went down to last season’s League Winners Argentina 29-7.
Ireland showed plenty of fight and character in their ninth-place semi-final against Australia but it wasn’t to be in the end. James Turner scored the opener for the Aussies, but Bryan Mollen’s effort in the seventh minute saw the Irish lead 7-5 at the half-time break.
Australia’s Michael Icely was sent to the sin bin during the second term but last season’s SVNS Cape Town Cup finalists still managed to have the only point-scoring say in that period. Hayden Sargeant scored in the 12th minute, with the Aussies going on to win a thriller 12-7.
As a reminder, Ireland only had one replacement during that contest, and it was a man once believed to be retired. Harry McNulty, who has been hosting several SVNS Series shows that are now available on RugbyPass TV, came off the pine in the sixth minute.
Ireland’s efforts must be recognised.
But the SVNS show also went on. With a Lucas Lacamp hat-trick inspiring the USA to a much-needed 26-14 win over Uruguay in the other ninth-place semi-final, the stage was set for a battle to avoid last place.
The Irish hadn’t faced the newly promoted Uruguayans so far this season, with the Uruguayans earning promotion off the HSBC Challenger Series in 2024. Uruguay had suffered a shocking 70-7 loss to Fiji on the opening day of play, but they showed against Ireland they’re a quality side.
