Hong Kong Sevens: Ireland journey threatens downwards turn, as Spain surge
One of the recent stories of the HSBC SVNS Series circuit, Ireland are fighting for their lives after player exits and reported funding cuts
As Mark Roche gave away his match-worn socks to a gleeful young fan inside Kai Tak Stadium, it was tempting to wonder if the hard-up Irish union would scold their player for his generosity.
After reporting losses of £15.3 million (US$19.8 million) in their 2023-24 accounts, which they blamed on costs for their men’s 15s’ 2023 World Cup quarter-final campaign, Irish rugby made changes to their “funding model”.
It is believed that Ireland’s sevens teams have been in the crosshairs of cost-cutting chiefs. The men, who finished second in last year’s HSBC SVNS Series standings, following only five years on the elite circuit, were a lowly 11th in this season’s table, after climbing off the bottom with a seventh-placed finish in Hong Kong.
Talking after his side beat Great Britain 28-12, Roche said he “would not comment” on whether his team retained strong backing from their union.
He said, however, that the country’s full-time programme, which was introduced in 2015, remains operational, while Ireland’s sevens teams still share a high-performance centre with their 15s counterparts.
Nonetheless, the narrative around Roche’s team has changed: last year, captain Harry McNulty told the Post about the “special drive” that was responsible for Ireland’s progress since they beat Hong Kong to gain world series status in 2019.