{{short description|Irish rugby union player (born 1995)|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox rugby biography | name = Billy Dardis | image = | caption = | birth_name = William Dardis | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1995|1|31}} | birth_place = Dublin, Ireland | height = 1.78 m | weight = 87 kg | currentclub = | position = Scrum-half (7s); <br /> Fullback (15s) | amatyears1 = 2013– | amatteam1 = UCD | ru_amateurupdate = | years1 = 2016–2017 | clubs1 = Leinster | apps1 = 0 | points1 = 0 | clubupdate = | repyears1 = 2014–2015 | repteam1 = Ireland U20 | repcaps1 = 10 | reppoints1 = 15 | repupdate = 20 June 2015 | repsevensyears1 = 2015– | repsevensteam1 = Ireland 7s | repsevenscomp1 = 24 | school = Newbridge College<br />Terenure College | university = University College Dublin | medals = {{Medal|Sport|Men's rugby sevens}} {{Medal|Country|{{IRL}}}} {{Medal|Competition|European Games}} {{Medal|Gold|2023 Kraków–Małopolska|{{nowrap|Team competition}}}} }}
'''Billy Dardis''' (born 31 January 1995) is an Irish rugby union player. He is the captain of the Ireland national rugby sevens team, and also plays for Terenure College RFC in Division 1A of the All Ireland League.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.leinsterrugby.ie/team/results/squad_leinster_academy.php |title=Squad |publisher=leinsterrugby.ie |accessdate=October 5, 2016}}</ref>
==Youth== In his youth, Dardis played rugby with Naas RFC. In secondary school, Dardis initially played for Newbridge College in Kildare, where he also played Gaelic football. Dardis switched to Terenure College, where he focused on rugby, and he played with Terenure in the Leinster Schools Senior Cup.<ref>[http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/six-nations/dardis-drawing-on-schools-experience-with-terenure-as-he-revels-in-carolans-expansive-ireland-u20s-gameplan-31023231.html "Dardis drawing on schools experience with Terenure as he revels in Carolan's expansive Ireland U-20s game-plan"], ''Independent'', Cian Tracey, 11 July 2017.</ref> Dardis also featured for Leinster at both u-18 and u-19 youth levels.
==Club== Dardis entered the Leinster academy in 2013. Dardis also played for UCD.<ref>[http://www.irishrugby.ie/rugby/fixturesandresults/35671.php "Dardis Hat-Trick The Highlight As UCD Crush Cookies"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328160647/http://www.irishrugby.ie/rugby/fixturesandresults/35671.php |date=2018-03-28 }}, 29 September 2015.</ref> After three years in the Leinster academy, he was awarded his first fully professional contract ahead of the 2016–17 season. After making no appearances for the province, however, Dardis left at the end of the 2016–17 season with Leinster not offering a new contract.<ref>[http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/guinness-pro12/ross-to-end-his-time-with-leinster-as-raft-of-young-stars-commit-futures-35598262.html "Ross to end his time with Leinster as raft of young stars commit futures"], ''Independent'', 12 June 2017.</ref>
==International== Dardis formerly played for the Ireland national under-20 rugby union team.<ref>[http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/six-nations/dardis-drawing-on-schools-experience-with-terenure-as-he-revels-in-carolans-expansive-ireland-u20s-gameplan-31023231.html "Dardis drawing on schools experience with Terenure as he revels in Carolan's expansive Ireland U-20s game-plan"], ''Independent'', Cian Tracey, 11 July 2017.</ref> He was on the under-20 squad in 2014 and in 2015, playing in the World Rugby under-20 Championship. He also impressed at the under-20 Six Nations with his footwork and pace.<ref>[http://www.the42.ie/billy-dardis-ireland-u20-1959539-Feb2015/ "Dardis and Ireland U20s aiming to replicate Schmidt’s senior set-up"], The42.ie, 26 February 2015.</ref>
Dardis currently plays scrum-half for the Ireland national rugby sevens team. He was on the squad in 2016 that unsuccessfully attempted to qualify for the 2016 Olympics.<ref>[http://www.leinsterrugby.ie/ireland-mens-sevens-squad-named-for-olympic-repechage/ "Men’s Sevens squad to compete at the Olympic Repechage in Monaco this weekend."]{{Dead link|date=February 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}, 15 June 2016.</ref> He was the captain of the team for the Rugby Europe 2017 Sevens Grand Prix Series,<ref>[http://www.the42.ie/ireland-sevens-squad-monaco-3420325-Jun2017/ "Former Leinster winger Billy Dardis captains Ireland for Grand Prix opener"], 1 June 2017.</ref> which served as a qualifying tournament for the 2018 Hong Kong Sevens and the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens.<ref>[http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/international/ireland-can-secure-place-at-rugby-sevens-world-cup-1.3141859 "Ireland can secure place at Rugby Sevens World Cup"], ''Irish Times'', John O'Sullivan, 3 July 2017.</ref>
Dardis captained the team at the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens. He led Ireland to a ninth-placed finish, the highest finish for any non core World Series team. Dardis finished the tournament with 32 points, ranked second among all players.
Dardis also captained the team at the 2019 Hong Kong Sevens qualifier, where Ireland won the tournament to qualify to play as a “core team” on the 2019–20 World Rugby Sevens Series.
Dardis captained the Ireland national rugby sevens team that qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ireland Rugby 7s book first-ever place at Olympics after shock final win over France|url=https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/ireland-rugby-7s-book-first-ever-place-at-olympics-after-shock-final-win-over-france-40560256.html|access-date=2021-06-20|website=independent|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Team|first=The42|title=Sensational second half sees Ireland Men's Sevens qualify for Tokyo Olympics|url=https://www.the42.ie/ireland-sevens-qualify-for-tokyo-olympics-5472348-Jun2021/|access-date=2021-06-20|website=The42|language=en}}</ref> He competed for Ireland at the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-06 |title=Ireland Squads Named For Rugby World Cup Sevens In Cape Town |url=https://www.irishrugby.ie/2022/09/06/ireland-squads-named-for-rugby-world-cup-sevens-in-cape-town/ |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=Irish Rugby |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{World Rugby Sevens Series profile|mens/58377}} * {{Olympics.ie|billy-dardis}} * {{Olympics.com|billy-dardis}} * {{Olympedia}} * {{Instagram}}
{{Ireland Sevens Squad for 2016 Olympic Qualification Tournament}} {{Ireland Sevens Squad for 2017 Sevens Grand Prix Series}} {{Ireland 2020 Men's Rugby Final Olympic Qualification Tournament squad}} {{Ireland Men's 2020 Summer Olympics Squad}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dardis, Billy}} Category:1995 births Category:Living people Category:Rugby union players from Dublin (city) Category:Irish rugby union players Category:Ireland international rugby sevens players Category:Leinster Rugby players Category:University College Dublin R.F.C. players Category:Olympic rugby sevens players for Ireland Category:Rugby sevens players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Category:People educated at Newbridge College Category:Rugby sevens players at the 2023 European Games Category:Medalists at the 2023 European Games Category:European Games medalists in rugby sevens Category:European Games gold medalists for Ireland Category:People educated at Terenure College