![]() ![]() "I was out of the Ulster system as well and that didn't really seem like a goal, so then when I got a call for Ulster, when I signed my first contract for the academy and Sevens, it was only then I believed I could make a living out of this and it could be a full-time job. "I'd say when I was with Enniskillen I didn't think I was going to be involved with anything, to be honest," he said. "Sevens really drove that and playing with the likes of lads that are still there and now going to the Olympics, Jordan Conroy, Terry Kennedy and then others that are here (with Ireland) now like Hugo Keenan and Shane Daly and boys like that."Īn Arsenal fan, Baloucoune played soccer growing up for Lisnaskea and then Enniskillen Rangers, and he got into rugby through his friends.īut it took a long time for him to realise he could make a career from the sport. "If I'd been playing 15s I'd have been stuck on the wing and I wouldn't have got the same ball or had to make as many tackles or been involved in the game as much. "Obviously other players were playing a different standard of rugby and it allowed me to catch up and put my skills to the test. I was playing junior rugby for Enniskillen. "I went into Sevens really before the Academy or the usual routes. Robert Baloucoune with the Ireland Sevens in 2018 (Image: ©INPHO/Gary Carr)īaloucoune is clear on how taking the Sevens route progressed his game. ![]() I'm really looking forward to trying to get that first cap and if that happens now in this series, that would be great." "For all those games with Ulster, putting in performances, it leads to this. When I started playing for Ulster it was my aim to try and represent Ireland. "It's been an aim, what I've been training for and pushing for," he said. Hugo Keenan, who has quickly become Ireland's regular full-back over the course of 10 months, is the best example and Baloucoune could make his debut alongside the Leinster man in the games against Japan (July 3) or the USA (July 10). For all the work they've put in, and to finish it off with France who are a great team, it's unbelievable."īaloucoune, 23, is one of a number of players who seized the chance provided by the Sevens route to reach the top level in 15s rugby. To go to the Olympics is a dream for them. It was p******* down with rain outside and we were all sat in, watching it all. "I had it on my phone in the car, sitting watching the games with my friends. "It was unbelievable," said Baloucoune, who has progressed from the Sevens set-up to become a try-scoring wing for Ulster. One of the uncapped call-ups to Andy Farrell's squad for the summer series, Baloucoune was away at the weekend before joining the Ireland set-up when he tuned in to watch the drama in Monaco, as the Ireland Sevens secured the last ticket for Tokyo by beating France. Kenya, as runners-up, qualified instead.Robert Baloucoune and his friends urged on his former Sevens team-mates in their successful bid for Olympic qualification as he sat in his car last Sunday. ^ South Africa won the qualifying tournament but declined their spot due to a policy against accepting spots from continental tournaments.Rugby sevens players from Scotland and Wales, however, were eligible to be selected for the British team at the Olympic Games. ^ Great Britain qualified for the Olympics through England's performance as England were the designated home nation that could earn Olympic qualification for Great Britain.^ a b With both the United States and Canada advancing to the tournament through securing top four slots in the 2018–19 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series, the spot for the RAN champion was re-allocated, allowing the final Olympic qualifying tournament to have two teams qualify for the Olympic Games. ![]()
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