Hugo Keenan made his return to the Ireland 7s team this afternoon at the HSBC SVNS tournament in Madrid. The Ireland and Leinster fullback made the return to the sevens circuit ahead of the summer Olympics in Paris in July.
He previously played on the circuit back from 2017 to 2019 before breaking into the Leinster and Ireland side and becoming one of the best fullbacks on the planet.
It wasn't all plain sailing for the Grand Slam Winner as the Blitzbokke scored off their fist possession of the match through Tiaan Pretorius. However a try from Irish 7s stalwart Terry Kennedy drew things level in the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid.
It just had to be Terry Kennedy 🙌
The perfect kick and chase for @Ireland7s ☘️#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSMAD pic.twitter.com/biBSpfDGBC
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) May 31, 2024
Two tries for South Africa either side of halftime however through Tristan Leyds and Quewin Nortje gave the Blitzbokke a 21-7 lead and Ireland had a daunting task ahead of them.
However Ireland received some hope as Zac Ward made a bursting break through the middle, breaking several South African tackles before racing 70 metres to the line to get Ireland back to within seven.
Zac Ward getting it done for @Ireland7s ☘️
The lung-busting effort makes us tired just watching it 😮💨#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSMAD pic.twitter.com/1Kd4JC20uL
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) May 31, 2024
Then Ireland were within touching distance of South Africa when Gavin Mullin scored a try, however a missed conversion meant that Ireland were still two points behind with the clock well into the red.
That's when Ireland were able to conjure up an attack full of offloads which saw Zac Ward run down the touchline, offload it to Harry McNulty who offloaded it to Mullin again to score the winning try for Ireland.
Up and running in style in Madrid! 🔥#Ireland7s
— Ireland 7s (@Ireland7s) May 31, 2024
Ireland are in a very tough group for the tournament out in Spain as they have New Zealand and Fiji on top of South Africa. They face the two Pacific island countries on Saturday and if they finish this tournament strongly they could win the HSBC SVNS this year. That would be the perfect momentum they need heading to Paris later in the summer.
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