Hugo Keenan Aiming To Hit The Ground Running At Sevens World Cup
“There was no real pressure on us. We were the 16th team, so we were just going out there to prove our point. We knew we were a good side and we just wanted to showcase that. It was about enjoying that. We’d worked hard during the season, so that was a nice sort of reward for us. To be able to put ourselves out there and get the medal at the end of it.”
While the Ulster Bank League is the sole port of call for the majority of Eddy’s 12-man World Cup squad, Keenan is one of four players under contract in the provincial system. After initially coming to prominence in the Ireland Under-20 side that reached the 2016 World Championship decider, the Leinster Academy member has had limited opportunities so far in the province’s senior set-up.
Two appearances off the bench against Zebre and Glasgow Warriors – almost 12 months apart – is the sum total of his senior 15s experience to date. This is in stark contrast to three of his former Ireland Under-20 team-mates, Jacob Stockdale, Andrew Porter and James Ryan, who all played significant roles in Ireland’s superb Grand Slam success in the spring.
Because of the demands that come with the Sevens game, Keenan has spent a large portion of time away from Leinster’s UCD base. Although he admits it can be difficult seeing young starlets like Jordan Larmour blossoming in his absence, he instead views his current situation as a potential springboard for 15s rugby.
“It is tough, but I think the Sevens develops you as well and you’ve seen the platform that it has given the likes of Barry Daly and Adam Byrne. How they’ve propelled themselves through the Sevens into Leinster,” he explained.
“It’s definitely a good platform to build yourself from. That’s sort of the way I see it. I feel it has improved me a good bit. Hopefully it will be beneficial for me for the 15s career.”
“The pace of the games, obviously it takes a while to get into it and to get that fitness level required. It’s also tough adapting to the systems of the Sevens. You’re constantly working in your pods of three, but it’s all about getting the game-time with the Sevens and the transition is natural enough.”
Whereas New Zealand are the team everyone seeks to emulate at 15s international level, it is Fiji who have traditionally set the benchmark for what can be achieved in the Sevens game. The Fijians had to settle for a third place finish at the 2013 World Cup (New Zealand were the overall winners), but they bounced back to win gold at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
Keenan has faced the Fijians in previous tournaments where it has usually proven to be a steep learning curve for Ireland. Should the teams cross paths in San Francisco, the young Dubliner reckons they could get a lot closer than they have done in recent encounters.
“That’s a serious, serious challenge playing against them (Fiji). They’re incredible athletes. You feel you’ve been chasing shadows at times (when you play them) and their offloads are incredible, but I suppose they are beatable,” he acknowledged.
“We saw that in the last (World Series) leg in Paris when Kenya and England both beat them. I look forward to playing them again. I think we can definitely do better than our previous results (38-12 and 38-5 losses) against them this summer have shown.”