As James Lowe and his Ireland teammates await the announcement of this year's Six Nations squad, there are a few who may have their sights set on a target slightly further down the line.
Ireland will look to defend the Six Nations crown they won in some style last year but, with qualification secured for the Rugby Sevens event at the Paris 2024 Olympics later this year, there have been rumours some of the men's 15s players could be persuaded to try their hand.
There are some obvious candidates. After all, Hugo Keenan made his name as a dashing Sevens player before making the switch to 15s, while any of Ireland's explosive first-choice back three could lend themselves to taking on the Olympic challenge.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport this week one of those three men, James Lowe, effectively ruled himself out of the running for a place at Paris 2024 - but said that he would not be surprised to see some of his Ireland teammates get the call.
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James Lowe all but rules out trying out for Paris 2024 Olympics
One of the biggest absentees from this year's Six Nations will be French star Antoine Dupont.
The Toulouse scrum-half will take a leave of absence from 15s rugby to prepare for the Sevens tournament on home soil at the Paris Olympics, after the heartbreak of a World Cup quarter-final exit at home last October.
11 February 2023; Antoine Dupont of France is tackled by James Lowe of Ireland during the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship match between Ireland and France at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
In an interview with RTÉ Sport this week, Ireland wing James Lowe joked that he was not distraught that one of the world's best players would be missing from the Six Nations - and was then asked whether he would consider making a similar move to push for a place on the Ireland Sevens team.
Lowe said that he was content with his place on the 15s team - but hinted that some of the squad members alongside him in the back three could be tempted, should an approach come through:
I’m pretty happy playing 15s. Don’t get me wrong, to play in the Olympics would be absolutely amazing.
There are probably some other boys who have better qualifications to fit more seamlessly into that Sevens role. There’s probably some more outside backs in the Ireland set-up that would probably get picked over me to play Sevens.
The IRFU have confirmed that one player from each province will be allowed to step aside in the buildup to the Olympics, should they choose to take part in the Rugby Sevens tournament.
Mack Hansen has previously spoken of his interest in signing up for the Sevens team, while Hugo Keenan would be an obvious choice given his previous experience. James Lowe's comments will only add to the hopes of Irish fans that we may see some stars of Andy Farrell's team in Paris this summer.
Ireland's Six Nations campaign gets underway on Friday, February 2nd with an evening kick-off against France in Marseille.
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