Argentina’s Tobias Wade was tackled by Ireland’s Gavin Mullin during the men’s Cup quarter-final match between Argentina and Ireland at the HSBC Rugby Sevens tournament in Singapore on May 4, 2024. Ireland managed to come from behind and beat the series leaders Argentina 21-5 in the quarterfinals, keeping them in the running to win the world rugby sevens series title. The South Americans had the opportunity to secure the regular season champions title with a win, but Ireland’s strong performance denied them that chance.
Despite a late goal by Tobias Wade in the first half, Ireland fought back with Jordan Conroy scoring just before halftime, followed by tries from Terry Kennedy and Billy Davis in the second half securing their victory. Ireland has not finished higher than third in the season’s series, and in order to clinch the title, they would need to win the Singapore event and hope Argentina loses to South Africa in the fifth-place playoff. Conroy praised his team’s performance in this crucial match, emphasizing the importance of the victory and their focus on the series title.
Ireland’s semi-final opponents on Sunday will be Great Britain, who defeated France 35-7 in their quarterfinal. Great Britain, who was beaten by Ireland in the opening pool game, fought back to secure their spot in the last eight. The other semi-final will feature Australia and New Zealand, who both came through tough quarterfinal matches. Australia overcame a 19-point deficit to defeat South Africa 29-24 in extra time, while New Zealand prevailed against the United States with a score of 19-14.
The regular season winners of the sevens series will be decided in Singapore, with the top eight teams advancing to the grand final in Madrid later this month. The bottom four sides will compete in a promotion-relegation event to determine the core teams for next season’s series. In the women’s tournament, series co-leaders New Zealand and Australia are on track for a showdown in Sunday’s final after maintaining their perfect records in Singapore. New Zealand topped their pool and defeated Great Britain in the quarter-finals, while Australia secured their spot in the last four with a win over Ireland.
Fiji will face New Zealand in the semi-finals after defeating Japan 12-10, and France will take on Australia following their 24-0 victory over Canada. The stage is set for exciting semi-final matchups in the men’s and women’s tournaments, with teams battling it out for a chance to claim the world rugby sevens series title in Singapore. The competition is heating up as top teams aim to secure their spots in the grand final and prove their dominance in the sevens series. Fans can expect thrilling matches and intense rivalry as the tournament reaches its exciting conclusion.
