Sevens aim for World Cup qualification

Ireland's rugby sevens manager Hugh McCaughey is confident his team will reach the World Cup finals in Dubai next year.

As the squad coached by John Skurr, prepares for a trip to Germany for the final qualifying tournament next weekend, McCaughey said the team's understanding of the sevens game has developed since they came together for the first round of qualifiers in Denmark last May.

"The skills required for sevens play and the tactical awareness of the players has improved greatly in our time together and with a strong squad we believe we are in with a chance of winning the tournament if
things go well.

Having finished runner-up in Denmark, the team went to Poland in late may where they won the tournament.

Going into the Hannover tournament, where their first game is on Saturday week, McCaughey said the squad was "very much up for it  ... so hopefully we can come home with the prize of qualification."

The 12-man squad which features Darren Cave, Cian Healy and Keith Earls who featured for Ireland A in last month's Churchill Cup are third seeds for the tournament behind Portugal and Wales. Connacht scrum-half Kieran Campbell is the captain.

Only the top five teams at the end of the tournament will automatically qualify for the World Cup next year, and McCaughey says going to Dubai was the original target.

"Our minimum goal at the start of this campaign was always to qualify for the World Cup and we have been happy with our performances to get to this point. The squad has developed and improved since our first outing in May, but this tournament will require another step up in performance."

Meanwhile, Ulster have announced they will play Super 14 team Queensland Reds at Ravenhill on Friday 22nd August as part of their pre-season preparations which includes games against Bath and Worcester.