Irish up for Kazan challenge

In finishing second at the Amsterdam invitational tournament, Ireland posed a timely reminder of their ability. However as they attempt to qualify for Rio, they have been handed a tough pool this weekend, facing France, Spain and the UkraineOut of the limelight somewhat since losing their World Series spot last year, Ireland have been quietly building their newly professional squad, and Eddy believes the experience will stand to them."Amsterdam was extremely valuable as it prepared the players for the actual demands of a tournament. Also, there were some quality teams and nothing replaces actual playing the game."The most pleasing things was to see the girls improve from game to game and playing five games on day two is testament to their fitness and commitment."We need to continue to play tournaments to become smarter and more street wise about the decision we make on the field"Ireland now train four times a week together as a squad based in Dublin City University and they have embraced talent transfer with a raft of their players having strong GAA backgrounds. Clare Ladies footballer and Camogie star Eimear Considine and Kerry Ladies footballer Louise Galvin are in the squad for this weekend while captain Lucy Mulhall is a former Irish junior football champion with Wicklow.Eddy agrees the squad benefits from new faces."The skills are very transferrable - it is the contact part of the sevens game that takes time to learn. The GAA girls are very athletic and well suited to sevens and already have handling and running skills.""Some girls are integrated immediately into the squad while with others we conduct a development programme that provides them the opportunity to refine skill and learn the game."Ireland will have a more than one aim in the coming months - qualifying for Rio certainly, but also winning a spot back on the World Series, something that has been a negative for them this year."It did have an impact in that the team did not play many tournaments." Eddy says. "And also it is important to test yourself and play against the best teams in the world if you want to improve."Getting back on the World Series is a real challenge but something we have targeted. It is extremely important so as we can continue to develop the programme and compete at the highest level.""This weekend, the European tournaments will again be a challenge with the likes of Spain, France, England and Russia all having WSWS experience and Wales, the Netherlands and others all having ambitions to be successful. It will be a very competitive tournament."

See a full preview of Round 1 of the Europeanshere