Hugo Keenan: It will be an exciting challenge coming up against world class Blair Kinghorn

READY FOR THE CHALLENGE: Hugo Keenan boarding the plane to Scotland. Pic: ©INPHO/Nick Elliott

The concept that is the British and Irish Lions has managed to straddle the chasm between the amateur and professional games.

Not all of rugby’s traditions and nuances could say the same. Some had even faded into the history books long before 1995.

Those of a certain vintage will remember the combined Ireland/Scotland and Wales/England games that popped up on the odd calendar, and the awful quartered jerseys that the respective sides wore as they met on and off through much of the last century.

Three of these fixtures took place in the early 1970s, the third of them in 1975 to mark the IRFU’s centenary celebrations when the likes of Ian McGeechan, Andy Irvine, Mike Gibson and Willie John McBride saw off the Anglo-Welsh offering 17-10.

These games weren’t just one-off gimmicks, they helped form the thinking for Lions tour selections at the time, but Irish and Scots will be head-to-head rather than arm in arm on Sunday in a game that will go a long way to deciding the party Down Under this summer.

The early consensus is that Ireland will make up the bulk of Andy Farrell’s pack in Australia while the Scots earn serious representation behind the scrum. The reality won’t be so black and white but the Scots absolutely have their fancies.

Finn Russell, Sione Tuipulotu, Huw Jones and Blair Kinghorn are all serious contenders for a Test spot against the Wallabies but there will be serious Irish interest across all four positions and more in the starting backline.

Hugo Keenan has been the most consistent full-back across the last few seasons when it comes to the Six Nations but the Leinster man acknowledges the abilities that Kinghorn will bring to the table in Edinburgh this weekend.

“Yep, Blair is playing brilliant rugby. He's really kicked on since moving to Toulouse, hasn't he? It suits his style of game and he's brought that into the international setup now. Yeah, he's world class.

“It's always an exciting challenge coming up against the likes of him and their back three, so dangerous as well. You want to be comparing and going up against the best of the best, and that's what makes it exciting and it's another little script to the game, which will be good.”

Russell would appear to be a more clearcut favourite for his slot in Australia. The Bath playmaker has matured as he has aged and banked games for clubs and country and Scotland simply won’t win this one without the No.10 firing on all cylinders.

Gregor Townsend’s men just don’t have the sort of pack to bludgeon a side like Ireland into submission. They can harry and hassle at the breakdown, challenge in the lineout, but to win this they will need some creative magic from their fly boys.

Keenan knows what’s coming.

“Yeah, he's got the full bag of tricks, doesn't he? He's a serious, serious player. He's a great passer of the ball, good kicker, likes taking the ball to the line. It's always an exciting challenge for me as a fullback going up against one of the best 10s in the world.

“I was lucky enough to get to play against him for Bath only two or three weeks ago, so maybe it's not a huge advantage, but it's something that's fresh in my mind and we've had a few battles down the past and looking forward to another one.

“And in fairness to them, they've a brilliant backline that's humming as well, so it's not just him that we have to be wary of and be prepped for.”

There’s an irony here in focusing so much on Scottish threats when Ireland have beaten their Celtic cousins ten times in a row and it’s not that Ireland have always been at their best against the Scots during that run.

An edgy win in the Aviva Stadium eleven months ago clinched a second straight and prompted slightly muted celebrations after a campaign that started so impressively in Marseille and never really hit the same heights thereafter.

The defeat of England in Dublin last week was far from perfect but there was a very encouraging 40 minutes in there and the challenge now is to keep the graph pointing in the right direction, starting in Edinburgh.

“We haven’t specifically talked about those games [in 2024] but we definitely know over the past year that we’ve been a little bit inconsistent with our performances, that we haven’t properly clicked fully as a team and we’re still chasing that perfect performance.

“Whether we’ll ever get it, I don’t know but we’ll definitely strive to do it. Our coaches are challenging us every day to get better and there’s more to come from this side, from both the England game, but also the summer series and the last Six Nations.”