Crowds gather in Smithfield for Red Bull rugby tournament

On Saturday, crowds gathered in Smithfield Square to watch the Red Bull Sprint 7s rugby tournament.

The competition saw eight of Ireland’s best tag rugby teams all battle it out in 7-minute-long matches.

Red Bull Sprint 7s joins the best parts from both Rugby Sevens and Tag Rugby, to deliver a unique experience for both players and viewers.

Teams are capped at seven players, with four players on the pitch per team at all times, made up of two men and two women.

Each game is played for seven minutes.

Tries scored by any male player counts for one point, while tries scored by any female player, is worth three. However, during the final minute of each game, the ‘Power Play’ comes into effect, where each try scored is worth double.

The eight teams competiting were from Limerick (Knights and Munster Warriors), Cork (Cubs), and Dublin (North Dublin Vikings, Emerald Warriors Naoise, Springboks, Rabbitohs, and Exiles).

Despite great efforts from all involved, it was the Limerick Knights who took home the trophy and the €1,000 prize, following their win against the Rabbitohs.

The tournament, sponsored by Red Bull, in partnership with the Irish Tag Rugby Association (ITRA) and Dublin City Council, took place in Smithfield Square on a specially made pitch, with music accompanying the day on big pitchside speakers.

Speaking with The Liberty before Saturday’s event, ITRA General Manager, Jack Leahy, said that this event was an opportunity to showcase tag rugby to people who may not have been interested beforehand, and called Smithfield Square an “iconic stage” for such an event.

“This event is an exceptional opportunity to showcase a fast-moving, intense, non-contact sport on an iconic stage in Dublin City,” Leahy said.

Mr Leahy said that the event being on Saturday was to coincide with the Ireland Vs South Africa rugby match.

“Our hope is that people who were in the city to enjoy Ireland Vs South Africa would encounter our teams and see themselves as tag rugby players,” he said. “After all, it’s a sport for all levels and standards.”

Leahy said that they were delighted to partner with Red Bull Ireland on this event.

“Everyone knows their reputation for entertaining and high-quality sports events,” he said.

For more information on tag rugby, including the various venues it’s played in across Ireland, including Grangegorman, one of the most popular venues, head to www.tagrugby.ie.