An inspired second day from Ryan Constable's young Ireland side has seen them draw Samoa in tomorrow's Plate quarter finals at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Hong Kong.
Former Ballymena team mates Andy Maxwell and Ian Humphreys shared seven of Ireland's eight tries between them as the European qualifiers earned crucial Pool A wins over Korea (24-17) and Tonga (24-7) - pipping the latter for a place in the second tier's last eight.
The Irish overcame an early Tongan try from Tevita Tu'ifua to claim their first win of the tournament, having lost out to Scotland, the USA and 2001 champions New Zealand on Friday.
SATURDAY'S RWC SEVENS POOL A RESULTS:
Ireland 24 Korea 17 (Irish scorers - Tries: Andy Maxwell 2, David Hewitt, Humphreys; Convs: Humphreys 2).
Tonga 7 Ireland 24 (Irish scorers - Tries: Andy Maxwell 2, Ian Humphreys 2; Convs: Humphreys 2).
