True blue Keenan fully aware of Dupont threat

TRUE BLUE: Hugo Keenan. Pic: ©INPHO/Tom Maher

Too many of us know what it is to have our day blighted by whatever team happens to have claimed our devotion. Hugo Keenan does, at least, have the consolation of a day job that makes up for anything Chelsea can subject him to.

Leinster and Ireland are both flying this season, again. Keenan has been a key player in capturing a Grand Slam with his country and, in the weeks to come, he will play the same part in his club’s quest for silverware.

His attachment to Chelsea became a matter of public knowledge after Andy Farrell’s side completed that Six Nations five-from-five and he sported a retro jersey from the London club’s distant past during the celebrations.

Keenan, along with a few clubmates, made it over to Spain to watch Real Madrid beat the Premier League side 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League tie soon after and the clown car that is the club on and off the field under Todd Boehly hasn’t made life easy.

“It’s tough being in here with all the (Manchester) United, Liverpool and Arsenal fans,” he admitted before this weekend’s Heineken Champions Cup semi-final against Toulouse. “There’s not many Chelsea lads around so I’m getting a good bit of stick.” 

Football is a handy means of escapism, all the same.

Some elite sportspeople find it hard to digest other games as mere punters. They can find instead that their analytical side takes over, but the absence of crossovers with rugby makes the beautiful game a pleasurable watch for Keenan.

It might be different if he could sneak a peak behind the curtain of a major club to see how the strings are pulled but the only titbit he can think of in game terms is in how some of the best footballers are constantly scanning the field around them.

“There’s always that clip of Frank Lampard constantly looking over his shoulder, like he did it 20 or 30 times before setting up a pass and ultimately setting up a goal.” 

Stuart Lancaster, a confirmed advocate of lessons to be learned from other sports and industries, showed them that one and Leinster players will certainly need their wits about them this weekend.

The Toulouse team that visits Dublin will, by common consent, be far better prepared and far more dangerous than the side that lost by 23 points to Leinster in the same round and at the same venue 12 months ago.

There are many reasons for that but the heightened threat can be personified by the presence of one man, Antoine Dupont, whose form has been more elevated this time around far beyond the Test window.

The Top 14 side has more kick metres than any other left in the Heineken Champions Cup, and in that they mirror the French national team, but the mere presence of their pocket battleship at scrum-half changes the terms of engagement.

He is anything but predictable.

“Yeah, he keeps you on your toes alright, and you just can’t switch off," said Keenan. "You might be a bit deeper when they’re deeper, if he’s looking to set up kicks or whatnot, but once he’s running you have to expect a line break.”