Hugo Keenan to miss Ireland’s tour of South Africa to pursue Olympic Sevens dream
Hugo Keenan will miss Ireland's tour of South Africa to pursue his Olympic Sevens dream
Andy Farrell will be without star full-back Hugo Keenan for Ireland's daunting two-Test tour of South Africa after he opted to go for gold at the Paris Olympics by rejoining the IRFU's Sevens programme.
The 28-year-old spent almost two years playing the shortened form of the game before making his breakthrough in 2020 and has since gone on to become one of the pre-eminent players in his position in the world.
He returned from injury against Ulster last weekend and is expected to start in this week’s Champions Cup final in London, before joining up with the Sevens team next week.
That will rule him out of Leinster’s final URC game against Connacht and the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the tournament as he prepares for the final leg of the SVNS series in Madrid.
Before then, he’ll likely line out with the squad at the Rugby Europe Sevens competition in Croatia.
If Leinster reach the URC final, he could be available for that game, before focusing fully on the Olympics and missing the highly-anticipated tour.
IRFU performance director David Nucifora announced in December that they would look at co-opting up to four XVs players into the programme should the need arise and it is understood that Connacht winger Andrew Smith is also in line for a return to the programme.
In terms of a player using Sevens as a leg up to a career in XVs, Keenan is a major success story and he has routinely referred back to his time on the programme as a key part in his development.
He has distanced himself from a return, but the news – which broke this afternoon on The42.ie and will be confirmed next week – is a real fillip to Ireland’s medal prospects after a successful season on the circuit.
France and Australia are also reaping the rewards of having established stars of the XVs game in their ranks, with Antoine Dupont and Michael Hooper both playing a part in their programmes.
Keenan will be a big loss for Farrell who does not have a recognised back-up full-back.
Ciarán Frawley has filled in there when Keenan has been injured for Leinster and Ireland, while Jimmy O’Brien is another option and Mack Hansen is another who will fancy his chances of slotting in at No 15 if he can overcome his injury problems in time.
South Africa have lost their own star back Damian Willemse for the tour after he suffered a serious finger injury against Connacht last weekend.
