Ireland banishing ‘impostor syndrome’
Going into Singapore Sevens, O’Driscoll sees bright future for men’s team
Legend Brian O’Driscoll says Ireland’s thriving men’s sevens team have banished their “impostor syndrome”, and are ready to claim a landmark first HBSC SVNS Series tournament victory.
Ireland’s latest opportunity to break their duck, five years after beating Hong Kong in a straight shoot-out for core World Series status, comes at the Singapore Sevens, which begins today.
Added incentive for the final event of the regular season is supplied by Ireland’s position on the shoulders of Argentina at the top of the series standings. They trail the South Americans by eight points, after finishing third in last month’s Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens. That bronze effort followed two previous thirdplaces this season.
Ireland, who established a fulltime sevens programme only nine years ago this month, were runners-up in Dubai last season, and in Toulouse in the previous campaign.
The draw for Singapore has placed Ireland in a group with Fiji – third in the 12-team table – USA and Great Britain. Argentina face New Zealand – winners in Hong Kong – Australia and Canada.
Former 15s superstar O’Driscoll, whose 141 appearances for Ireland and the British & Irish Lions make him the fifthhighest-capped test player, said: “The next step for Ireland is to win one of these events, and they are very close.
“We have a really good sevens structure in place ... but there is also an element of faking it until you make it. It is natural in life to [mentally] put people ahead of you, to confer higher status on them. But why should it not be possible to compete with teams, just because they got there before you? In a physical sport, if you win some battles, and learn from those where you come off second best, you improve for next time. Then all of a sudden you realise you belong there.
“The impostor syndrome leaves you and you regularly compete. You just have to break the seal, then consistently remind yourself that you are not out of your depth.”
Ireland captain Harry McNulty was part of the sevens evolution from the outset, playing against Turkey, Montenegro and Belarus in Rugby Europe Division C back in 2015. He echoed O’Driscoll’s sentiments, relating how every notable victory prompted a response of, “You know what? This is believable”.
O’Driscoll mirrored the views of McNulty, who previously heaped praise on Australian David Nucifora, the outgoing performance director of Irish Rugby, for championing the development of sevens.
“We have to give him a lot of credit – he was a big sevens advocate, and thought it was an important vehicle for developing the next generation of players,” O’Driscoll, a global brand ambassador for HSBC, said.
“In the past, players would start in sevens and move to 15s, which was the much bigger focus in Ireland. In the past few years, there has not been much movement, and look at the quality they have delivered.”
Ireland’s women beat the men to the punch in terms of World Series success, claiming their maiden title in January’s Perth leg.
“The beauty of sevens is that on any given day, anyone can win,” he said. “As a rugby nation we are batting way above our average.
You just have to break the seal, then consistently remind yourself you are not out of your depth BRIAN O’DRISCOLL