Hugo Keenan's return to the Ireland 7s team didn't go perfectly to plan this weekend as Ireland finished fifth at the Madrid SVNS at the Civitas Metropolitano on Sunday.
Ireland were drawn in a tough group and after a last-gasp win against South Africa on Friday, they suffered two heartbreaking losses on Saturday to 7s powerhouses Fiji and New Zealand.
Both losses occurred in Golden Point, similar to Golden Goal in football where if the two sides are level after full time, whoever gets the next score wins.
Keenan actually played a crucial part on Saturday as his try against New Zealand forced the match to extra time.
"Grand Slam champion has pulled off a grandstand finish" 😱#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSMAD | @Ireland7s pic.twitter.com/CGWdfy6vb8
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) June 1, 2024
He also started in both of the matches on Sunday, first being the 5th place semifinal against Great Britain and then the 5th place final against South Africa, both of which Ireland won.
Speaking after the 5th place final Keenan opened up about the whole process of getting involved with the 7s team and how his injury after the Six Nations nearly curtailed everything.
It’s been a very busy year for me, that’s the exciting part. I suppose it was put on the table a while back but it was always going to be a bit of a last-minute decision,
I’d been injured since the Six Nations and that threw a bit of a spanner in the works. Prior to that, I was trying to just focus on Leinster and the Champions Cup because that’s where my career is and where I had to fully focus and commit one hundred percent.
The Leinster fullback then spoke about the hard decision he had to make but the unique chance to be part of the first Irish side to win a rugby 7s medal at the Olympics was something he couldn't pass on.
The opportunity came about pretty late on and because the lads were doing so well this year, I had a few chats with a few coaches, a few of the actual playing squad and everybody seemed keen to get me on board.
These opportunities don’t come around too often. I had to make a tough decision, but hopefully, it’s one that I won’t regret and I’ll fully commit to now over the next few weeks and see what happens.
Hopefully Keenan won't be missed too much when Ireland tour South Africa in July and he can also help Ireland get their first ever Olympic medal in Paris.
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