| Date of birth | 25 January 1993 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 89 kg (196 lb) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Professional rugby player | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Mark Roche (born 25 January 1993) [1] is an Irish rugby union player. He plays for the Ireland national rugby sevens team as a scrum-half.
In his youth, Roche played with Blackrock. [2] He then went on to play for the Ireland under-20 national team in the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship. [3] He was also part of the Lansdowne team that was crowned 2015 All-Ireland League Division 1A champions, scoring a try in the final against Clontarf. [4]
Roche has played as a scrum-half for the Ireland national rugby sevens team since 2015. Roche played for Ireland in the 2017 Rugby Europe Grand Prix, helping Ireland qualify for the 2018 Hong Kong qualifier and the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens. [5]
Roche was part of the Ireland team that reached the semifinals of the 2018 Hong Kong Sevens qualifier for the 2018–19 World Rugby Sevens Series. [6] He started at scrum-half for the Ireland team that finished third at the 2018 London Sevens; Roche was selected to the tournament Dream Team at the conclusion of the tournament. [7] He competed for Ireland at the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town. [8]
Rugby sevens is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. Rugby sevens is administered by World Rugby, the body responsible for rugby union worldwide. The game is popular at all levels, with amateur and club tournaments generally held in the summer months. Sevens is one of the most well distributed forms of rugby, and is popular in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and especially in the South Pacific.
The Ireland and South Africa rugby union teams have a rivalry dating back to 1906. The Springboks of South Africa dominated their early meetings, with the Irish winning just once prior to 2004, but results have turned in Ireland's favour since then. In 2016, Ireland achieved their first test victory against the Springboks in South Africa with a 26–20 victory in Cape Town. Since 2022, South Africa are the only major Southern Hemisphere team over which Ireland has not achieved a series victory. The two teams' first meeting at the Rugby World Cup (RWC) took place in the pool stage of the 2023 edition on 23 September at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. The fixture, largely considered to be a decider as to who would win the pool and the number one spot in the world ranking, was won by Ireland, 8–13.
Simon Daniel Edward Amor is an English rugby union coach and former player. Amor played in the scrum-half and fly-half positions for London Scottish and captained the England national rugby sevens team. He has been the head coach of London Scottish, England sevens, Hong Kong, and, as recently as 2020, was appointed defence-coach for the England rugby union team.
Lansdowne Football Club, also sometimes referred to as Lansdowne Rugby Football Club, is a rugby union team based in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1872 by Henry Dunlop as the Irish Champion Athletic Club. Its senior team currently plays in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League. The club's playing colours are black, red and yellow hoops, with navy shorts.
The Ireland national rugby sevens team competes in several international rugby sevens competitions. The team is governed by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU).
Vaea Naufahu Anitoni is an American former rugby union player who played wing. Anitoni is the all-time leading try scorer for the U.S. national team. Anitoni played for the United States national team from 1992 to 2000. During that period, Anitoni played in 46 matches, starting 44, and scored 26 tries, a record which still stands today.
Billy Dardis is an Irish rugby union player. He is the captain of the Ireland national rugby sevens team, and also plays for Terenure College RFC in Division 1A of the All Ireland League.
Jordan Conroy is an Irish rugby union player. He is a specialist sevens player who plays for the Ireland national rugby sevens team, and has represented Ireland in the 2020 Summer Olympics and plays his XV's club rugby with the Buccaneers RFC as a wing.
Harry McNulty is an Irish rugby union player who currently plays for the LA Giltinis of Major League Rugby (MLR). He also plays as a forward for the Ireland national rugby sevens team.
Ian Fitzpatrick is an Irish rugby union player. In rugby sevens, he plays as a forward for the Ireland national rugby sevens team. Fitzpatrick began playing rugby sevens in 2015 while with Lansdowne. He was a member of the Irish sevens team that finished second in the 2017 Sevens Grand Prix Series, qualifying for the 2018 Hong Kong Sevens and the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens. Fitzpatrick played for Ireland at the 2018 Hong Kong Sevens qualifier, where Ireland fell to Japan 12–7 in the semifinals and failed in their quest to qualify for the 2018–19 World Series.
Terry Kennedy is an Irish rugby union player who has played for the Ireland national rugby sevens team since 2016.
Cado Lee Ka ToMH is a Hong Kong rugby union and rugby sevens player. He plays for USRC Tigers RFC, the Hong Kong national sevens team and the Hong Kong national rugby union team.
The 2019 Hong Kong Sevens was a rugby sevens tournament that took place at the Hong Kong Stadium between the 5–7 April 2019. It was the 44th edition of the Hong Kong Sevens, and the seventh tournament of the 2018–19 World Rugby Sevens Series. Sixteen teams competed in the main tournament, while a further twelve competed in a qualifier tournament with the winner getting core team status for the 2019–20 World Rugby Sevens Series.
Gregory O'Shea is an Irish rugby union player. He played for the Ireland national rugby sevens team, usually as a fly-half. In July 2019, O'Shea partnered with Amber Gill won the fifth series of Love Island.
Melani Matavao is a Samoan professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for the Samoa national team.
Adam Leavy is a rugby union player. He plays for the Ireland national rugby sevens team as a forward.
Christine Gordon is a Hong Kong rugby union player. She represented Hong Kong at the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup in Ireland, it was Hong Kong's first-ever World Cup appearance. She started in their game against New Zealand at Number 8.
Agnes Chan Tsz-ching is a Hong Kong rugby union player. She was selected for Hong Kong's squad to the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup in Ireland.
Tammy Lau Nga-wun is a Hong Kong rugby union player. She represented Hong Kong at their first World Cup appearance in 2017 in Dublin. She started in the match against eventual champions, New Zealand.
Scott Nichol is a former Scotland international rugby union player. He played at Fly-half and Centre.
