Ireland’s rugby Sevens take on Great Britain this weekend in a huge clash to begin their Olympic campaign in Paris.

Carrybridge native Claire Boles will be on the sidelines ready to jump into action if called upon after being selected as a travelling reserve as an addition to Ireland’s initial 12-player squad.

Boles has picked up a handful of Sevens caps for Ireland with her first game coming back in 2017 and says she was delighted to receive the news that she would be heading to Paris for the 30th edition of the Summer Olympic Games.

Speaking on receiving her selection, Boles said: “It was a few weeks ago, but I was really looking forward to it. It was really hard work, we were really competing for a spot.

"Even as a travelling reserve, I’m just really happy to be a part of the squad and I was really pleased when I found out. I think they (my family) were just delighted for me because they’re the ones who support you and can see, for instance, the training sessions you do on Boxing Day or the stuff you miss over the years, so, everyone was really delighted that all the hard work had paid off.”

The 26-year-old revealed that her role is not really any different and that the Ireland camp had a successful week of preparation at Complexe de la Chambrerie in Tours before getting to the Olympic Village ahead of Sunday’s opener.

“We pretty much train as normal, you usually bring 15 in a world series and you can bring that 15 in on a game day if you needed them or you can swap them around into a 12 for each game, but in this Olympics, it’s only if someone is injured or ill," she said. 

"We’ll still be warming up if we’re needed on the tournament days as well. It’s definitely a squad effort, you're still gonna be involved. We’re just teeing off this week because we kick-off our tournament this week on Sunday, so, we only have a few sessions left, we’re just kind of nit-picking at wee things, making sure everyone is clicking on the same page.”

Ireland begin their Olympic journey against Great Britain on Sunday at 2.30pm before playing South Africa at 6pm.

Their final game in Pool B is Australia on Monday with Boles expecting three difficult tasks, however, confidence is high following their first World Series Sevens win over Australia back in January: “The buzz is really high, we had a good training week beforehand, and we got to the (Olympic) village yesterday (Monday) so, we’ve got today to get ourselves settled down, the girls are excited and it’s really exciting times.

"Our goals have always been to get a medal. We’ve been fighting for a medal this season and last season. We medalled in Perth in January, so, we know we can do it. It’s just a matter of pushing for it.

"We definitely expect it to be tough. We know they (GB) got a few players back from the 15s that has changed their squad from the rest of the season, we know they’ll be good and they’ll have been practicing away, like us. I think it’ll be a good game.”

The Bioprocess engineering student said she’s already enjoying her time at the Olympic Village and has had a standout moment so far.

“It’s something really little,” she continued.

“It’s when we came into the Team Ireland house or apartment, we didn’t realise, but they got some schoolkids to draw a picture of each player and they framed them, in each player's room, with a wee good luck message.

"That was a wee moment for me where I was like, ‘Ah we’re doing what we do now for the next generation.' So that was lovely to see.

"It feels like the whole world is here, it’s very busy. But it's nice to see. You're so engrossed in your own sport the whole time that you can forget there’s still many other sports that are competing at such a high level and from all different corners of the world and it’s nice to see them all here.”