Hugo Keenan, the Ireland and Leinster full-back, will miss the summer Tests against South Africa after being called up to be part of Ireland’s Sevens team ahead of the Olympics later this summer.
Keenan’s switch to sevens will be a blow for Ireland head coach Andy Farrell, losing his No 1 option at full-back for the matches against the Springboks, but is a major boost for the country’s hopes of winning a medal in the men’s competition at the Olympics in Paris. His potential availability for Leinster in the playoffs of the United Rugby Championship is currently unclear.
The 27-year-old previously won 12 caps for Ireland Sevens between 2017 and 2019, before focusing on XVs and developing into one of the world’s top full-backs.
Keenan has now been called up to play in the final leg of the HSBC SVNS series in Madrid this weekend, just a week on from starting in Leinster’s heartbreaking Champions Cup final defeat against Toulouse in…
