CONFIRMED: Ireland star to miss Springboks Tests to chase Olympic dream
Ireland's Hugo Keenan after the Guinness 6 Nations match between France and Ireland.
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) have confirmed that Leinster full-back Hugo Keenan has been called up to Ireland’s sevens squad ahead of this weekend’s action.
The 27-year-old has been named in Ireland’s 13-man sevens squad for this weekend’s inaugural HSBC SVNS 2024 Grand Final in Madrid, a move that will likely result in him missing the upcoming internationals.
Joining Keenan in the Ireland squad is fellow sevens returnee and Connacht back Andrew Smith, as both will be bidding for a place in the Olympic Games team.
Keenan out for Springboks’ Tests
Keenan last played for the sevens team five years ago, winning the last of his 12 sevens caps. Since then, he has become a regular for Leinster and Ireland, winning 39 Test caps under Andy Farrell. He is widely regarded as one of the best full-backs in the game.
Prior to making the move to the XVs game, Keenan was a regular presence throughout Ireland’s key moments to HSBC SVNS Series qualification.
He featured in a memorable third-place finish as an invitational team in London to the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco, and then World Series qualification in Hong Kong in 2019.
Ireland: Who replaces Hugo Keenan at full-back against the Springboks?
Keenan follows the likes of Antoine Dupont and Michael Hooper in switching to sevens in a bid to play in the Olympic Games.
In his absence, Farrell is likely to turn to the likes of Mack Hansen, Ciaran Frawley and Jordan Larmour to fill his void at full-back for the highly anticipated Tests against the back-to-back Rugby World Cup-winning Springboks.
His switch to sevens will see him miss the final round of the United Rugby Championship for Leinster and possibly their play-off fixtures in the competition.
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Ireland Men’s Sevens Squad
Niall Comerford, Jordan Conroy, Sean Cribbin, Billy Dardis, Hugo Keenan, Terry Kennedy, Hugo Lennox, Harry McNulty (c), Gavin Mullin, Chay Mullins, Aaron O’Sullivan, Andrew Smith, Zac Ward
Ireland Men’s SVNS Grand Final, Madrid fixtures
Friday, May 31
Ireland Men v South Africa, 2.37pm local time/1.37pm Irish time
Saturday, June 1
Ireland Men v Fiji, 1.06pm local time/12.06pm Irish time
Ireland Men v New Zealand, 4.11pm local time/3.11pm Irish time
Sunday, June 2
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