Ireland Men's Sevens have been handed a tough Olympics draw after their dramatic Tokyo qualification.
Anthony Eddy's side have been paired in Pool C in the 12-team tournament alongside South Africa - who won bronze in Rio - the USA and Kenya, with the action taking place between July 26-28 26-28.
Ireland faced all three of their pool opponents during the Covid-shortened 2020 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, while Eddy’s side also faced the USA at the GB International 7s tournament in May.
In their last encounter, Ireland drew 19-19 with South Africa – the bronze medallists in Rio – during the Los Angeles round of the World Series in 2020, while they also drew with Kenya in Cape Town in December 2019.
“We are familiar with these teams from the World Series and the reality is there are no easy games at this level,” said Eddy. “We will prepare well for the Pool matches and look forward to each game."
Ireland will be pleased to have avoided the current Rugby World Cup Sevens and World Series champions New Zealand and Australia, who are both in Pool A.
Skipper Billy Dardis said: “After letting the emotions of the last week settle, it's all starting to get very real for the squad and today’s announcement is an exciting marker for us.
"It's going to be a very challenging pool but we’ve come up against those three teams regularly before and will take confidence from previous meetings.
“We’ll focus on preparing for these three teams now over the coming weeks and it’s an exciting time for us. We’re really looking forward to getting over to Tokyo and stepping onto the Olympic stage."
