Hugo Keenan sets sights on Olympics with return to Irish Sevens squad

Hugo Keenan of Leinster during the United Rugby Championship match between Ulster and Leinster at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Hugo Keenan is set follow Champions Cup final opponent Antoine Dupont into the Paris Olympic Sevens with a surprise return to the format with the Ireland Men’s Squad this summer.

The 27-year-old full-back, who made a successful return from injury for Leinster at Ulster last weekend, is set to resume a Sevens career he left behind after a two-season spell in 2019 for a hugely successful switch to the 15-a-side game.

The IRFU in December revealed it would permit Ireland Men’s Sevens head coach James Topping to take one XVs professional from each of the four provinces to vie for a place in the Olympics squad bound for Paris this June and July. 

And if Keenen makes a sufficiently good impression back in Sevens, initially in at least one of two upcoming tournaments in Madrid and Croatia which will make him eligible for the Summer Games, he will realise an Olympic dream which will rule him out of Ireland’s blockbuster Test series with the world champion Springboks in South Africa this July.

Leinster may still call upon the first-choice Ireland XV’s number 15 should they reach the URC semi-finals and final but head coach Leo Cullen is unwilling to prevent Keenan from chasing his Olympic ambitions.

He is in no way guaranteed a place in the Olympics squad with Ireland currently second in the men’s World Series standings with one round remaining but Keenan at least has a background in Sevens.

France XV captain and scrum-half Dupont, whom Keenan will face in London this Saturday when Leinster go head to head with Toulouse in the Champions Cup final, missed this season’s Six Nations in February and March to cut his teeth in Sevens and cement a place in the host nation’s squad for the Paris Games. His return to club colours has helped propel Toulouse into their first Champions Cup decider since Dupont lifted the trophy at Twickenham in 2021.