‘It's a mess' – Billy Dardis accuses IRFU of wanting to ‘push away and quieten down' rugby 7s after DROPPING programme
In his role as vice-chair of the Olympic Federation of Ireland's Athletes Commission, Dardis is trying to get to grips with a whole host of sports with which he is not familiar.
2
The IRFU has dropped the men's rugby 7s programme
Credit: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
2
Billy Dardis has slammed the decision
Credit: Ben McShane/Sportsfile
But it is his own sport enveloped in the biggest crisis with the IRFU dropping its male Sevens programme.
Dardis captained the team on its Olympic debut, when it came 10th in Tokyo but missed out on selection for
World
And Dardis believes the Ireland team was doomed since the departure of David Nucifora as the IRFU's performance director.
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And Dardis said: 'Sevens is probably the younger brother that they want to push away and quieten down.
'What happened in the last month, it would be like if the
'So it is a bit of a mess.
'I was joking last night that we were like the Jamaican
the flash
in the pan, came on the scene for four or five years and then it's gone.
Most read in Rugby Union
'By all accounts, on Monday the lads are getting told that there is no programme
next
year.'
As it happens, that four-man team - immortalised in the movie Cool Runnings - qualified for four successive Olympics but that will not be on the cards for the Men's Sevens, although the Women's programme will be retained because of its more integral role in the 15-a-side game.
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Dardis' intervention prompted the IRFU to bring forward its announcement planned for Monday but he said it had not come as a surprise.
He said: 'Lads are going looking for
jobs
right now. It's a bit of a mess. It's devastating.
'It has just been infuriating watching it because ten players retired last year after Paris and not one player was replaced. So they only had 13 or 14 players across the whole squad this year.
'They didn't bring in one so you kind of see the cracks. They weren't putting in the same amount of funding. Coaches and performance staff started to leave.
'I've come to terms with it and I think the lads as well. It's, 'OK I need to find a job for next year' and some of them have.'
Dardis believes a podium finish in Paris might have saved the team but said that was not the only measure of success.
'SHORT-SIGHTED'
He said: 'You look at Zac Ward kicking on now at Ulster, Andrew Smith at Munster, you could go right across the provinces.
'Hugo Keenan is now playing for the Lions, so lots of good things have come out of it. It's short-sighted by both World Rugby and Irish Rugby.
'It was driven by David Nucifora. It was just after Ireland got hammered by
'We didn't quite realise it at the time, he was the one
'With David Humphreys coming in, I thought he was going to be a big supporter of it.
'But leading into Paris, there were a few cracks. There wasn't a Sevens academy being built over a few years, so you are thinking, 'what's going to happen here?''
IRFU STATEMENT
In a statement, the IRFU said the decision to cancel the programme was in part to "ensure long-term financial
sustainability
".
It read: "The Irish Rugby
Football
Union (IRFU) today confirmed that following a comprehensive
review
of its Sevens programmes after the conclusion of the 2024 Olympic cycle, it has made the decision to cease the Men's Sevens programme following the conclusion of the 2024/25 season.
"This move is part of a broader strategic effort to ensure long-term financial sustainability and focus on key initiatives outlined in the Union's strategic plan.
"This announcement follows the release of the IRFU's financial results last November, which showed an €18 million deficit for the 2023/24 season.
"As part of its ongoing efforts to manage this deficit and secure a sustainable financial
future
, the IRFU has been reviewing all of its programmes to identify areas for optimisation and prioritisation.
IRFU High Performance Director, David Humphreys said: 'The financial situation we face is challenging, and it's crucial that we take decisive action to secure the long-term success of Irish Rugby.
'While the decision to end the Men's Sevens programme is a difficult one, it is necessary in order to ensure that our resources are focused on the areas that will have the greatest impact on the future of the game in Ireland.
"We are committed to making sure that this transition is handled with the utmost respect for all those who have contributed to the success of the Sevens programme.'
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