“I just see him as potentially the best player in the world.”
Hugo Keenan had that ‘underrated’ tag on him for the first couple of years of his Test career, but he is widely acknowledged now as one of the best fullbacks in world rugby.
We caught up with the Leinster and Ireland star out at the National Indoor Training Centre, in Dublin, earlier this week and got his take on who be believes might be the most underrated player in rugby, right now. He named a player that is five years his senior but who made his Test debut in the same match as him.
“Jamison Gibson Park,” Keenan immediately replied to our question. “I’m not sure if he’s underrated, but I just see him as potentially the best player in the world and see how important he is to Leinster and Ireland. I’m not sure if he gets all the credit he deserves.”
The Leinster pair lined out together for Ireland, together, for the first time in October 2020 in a home win over Italy. They have been key figures in the new-look backline Andy Farrell established with first Johnny Sexton and now Jack Crowley at the helm. Gibson-Park is a New Zealand native and needed to satisfy World Rugby’s then three-year residency rule [it is now five] to represent his adopted country. Late last year, the scrum-half celebrated becoming an Irish citizen and declared, “I am blessed.”
Hugo Keenan on bouncing back from tough moments
During our chat with Hugo Keenan, we asked if there was a law change in rugby that he would like to see. Unsurprisingly, he is not a fan of the on-side kicking law that has sucked momentum out of some recent Premiership and Six Nations games.
“Do you know when teams are kicking to each other and you have to be brought on-side by chasing winger, or you can wait until the player runs five metres or passes the ball 10 metres?” he began.
“I think you saw a small bit of that in the Scotland vs. France game, where there’s a bit of chess between Finn Russell and a few of the French back-three players. That’s getting a bit stupid, at this stage, so I think something probably needs to be done about that.”
We were curious to find out how a player that was a relatively late bloomer in professional rugby – he played football at a decent level up until he was 17 – has coped with some set-backs in his career. The Dublin native named two:
“Unfortunately, with sport and rugby there can often be a lot of low points. Obviously, the World Cup stands out as the big one. I don’t think there’s anything you can do just to get over that.
“When I think back, in 2018 when I had a few significant injuries for the first time – a broken finger and was out for seven weeks. Broke my collarbone, got surgery on my ankle and had knee ligament injuries, all in the space of a short period. There was a bit of uncertainty – I was being thrown back and forth between sevens and 15s. The resilience and perseverance I showed that year has probably has paid off and, thankfully, I’ve had a bit of luck on the injury front since then.”
Hugo Keenan on #HalfAFan campaign
Hugo Keenan is hoping to be back in the Test selection mix for the Six Nations away date with England, on Saturday, March 9.
He picked up a leg injury in the 36-0 win over Italy and had to sit back and watch Ciáran Frawley score a try from fullback, against Wales, when he took over the No.15 jersey. Keenan has started 38 of Andy Farrell’s first 48 games, since taking over as head coach of Ireland, so will be pressing for an immediate recall if he proves his fitness.
Following the men’s Six Nations campaign, focus then switches to the women’s championship and Keenan, as part of Energia’s #HalfAFan campaign, recommended some players to watch.
“I’ve been lucky enough, when I was with Ireland Sevens, to get to know a lot of the women’s players,” he said. “It’s great to see a few of them getting picked into the 15s squad – the likes of Eve Higgins, Beibhinn Parsons in the backline. Brittany Hogan is an extremely important player for them in the pack, gets a bit of go-forward ball for them. I’m excited to see how she goes, too.
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