Flexibility of backline ranks can steer Ireland through Wales test

The Irish management has not given up quite yet on Hugo Keenan passing fit for Saturday’s visit of Warren Gatland’s young Wales team to Dublin.

MAJOR DOUBT: Ireland's Hugo Keenan (left) is tackled by Italy's Ange Capuozzo.

Ireland are convinced the flexibility of their backline players can steer them through against Guinness Six Nations rivals Wales this Saturday should Hugo Keenan not pass fit for the Aviva Stadium clash.

Keenan has long made the full-back position in Andy Farrell’s Ireland teams his own, starting all 38 of his Test appearances in his country’s last 42 Tests since his debut against Italy in the Covid-delayed Six Nations clash of October 2020.

That debut was one of four appearances he made on the wing, which means the 27-year-old has played more than 80 percent of Ireland’s Tests in the last three and a half years as the chosen number 15.

Of the matches he missed, Ulster’s Michael Lowry was handed jersey against the Italians in the 2022 championship while Leinster team-mate Jimmy O’Brien has deputised on the three more recent occasions, against Fiji in November 2022 and for last summer’s World Cup warm-ups against Italy and Samoa.

When Keenan went down in the second half of the 36-0 win over the Azzurri on February 11, starting fly-half Jack Crowley switched to the backfield as Harry Byrne came off the bench as Ireland’s 10 while speculation on a potential deputy this weekend has fallen on utility back Ciaran Frawley filling the role for his first Test start in what would be his third cap.

The Irish management has not given up quite yet on Keenan passing fit for Saturday’s visit of Warren Gatland’s young Wales team to Dublin with defence coach Simon Easterby insisting both the full-back and No.8 Caelan Doris, who each sat out training in Abbottstown yesterday, would be given every chance to be in Farrell’s selection announcement tomorrow.

Yet Easterby acknowledged the importance of Keenan’s place in a winning Ireland side and the tough task for whoever gets the nod to replace him should the need arise.

“Hugo has been an integral part of this team since Faz took over and it’s been really hard to shift him out of that 15 position, which has meant that we haven’t probably seen as many players in that position because he’s been so durable and so brilliant in that position,” Easterby said.

“He has an old head on young shoulders. I think he’s found his way into this position in a slightly different way. He’s gone through Sevens and his work ethic, his connections with other people, him taking ownership different areas of the game, sort of backfield defence/attack, kicking game - all those things start to rub off on players as well.

“So he’s someone that people will look to for confidence, look to for more support and then he’s also able to go out and perform at the very, very highest level, and his performances don’t dip very often. So, he’s an incredible role model, probably for players who are older than him as well as players who are younger than him.” 

Echoing the sentiment made last Thursday of fellow assistant Paul O’Connell when assessing the possibility of replacing Keenan this weekend, the defence coach added: “If he’s not available then it’s an opportunity for us to grow some depth and experience in that position, and I think that’s exciting as well.

“Obviously we’ve relied heavily on Hugo but we have alternative options in that 15 position and I think the flexibility of the backline is actually something that we’ve spoken about as coaches, and having the ability to play certain players in more than one position, and I think there’s probably only a couple of players that don’t fill that role at the moment.

“Everyone seems to be able to play in more than one position which is really important in today’s game, where you might go to a 6-2 or a 7-1 (split) potentially. I know it’s been done, we did it against France and other teams did it in the World Cup, so that flexibility of the backline is really important.” 

Of Doris’s absence from yesterday’s pitch session at the IRFU High Performance Centre on the Sports Ireland Campus, Easterby said it was a pre-planned decision to manage the backrower’s workload after a couple of powerhouse performances in the victories over France and Italy.

“He is probably carrying a few (knocks), but more bumps and bruises. I guess he took a few hits against Italy and he’s in a good place but he needs to be managed in a couple of areas. We don’t expect him not to be fully fit for the weekend.” 

Ireland are also monitoring lock Iain Henderson’s recovery from a foot injury sustained on Ulster duty last Saturday against Ospreys with the trio of injured players potentially facing a make-or-break training session today ahead of final team selection.