From the Olympics to the Lions – Keenan ready to make history

Hugo Keenan, a member of Ireland’s rugby 7s squad, was preparing for the Paris Olympics a year ago.

He’s now prepared to stake his claim to the title of British and Irish Lions test player, while also adding a little history to the process.

The Irish full-back will become the first Irish player to represent their country at the Olympics and the Lions when he takes to the field against the Queensland Reds on Wednesday.

“I wouldn’t make comparisons to either.” According to Keenan, the closest comparison I could make is that entering a new squad left you with that almost butterfly-like jitter from meeting new people.

In the Sevens squad, it was comparable. You can only know about 50% of the squad’s members because I knew them and developed close relationships with them like the Lions, where you know your country’s teammates and meet a few new ones.

I’m definitely trying to incorporate some of the lessons I learned from leaving a new team, squad, or sport into the Lions into the process of trying to make those connections. “But then there’s also new guys here.

“I’ve had the honor of being a part of that Olympic journey, and I’m honored to be here today on this Lions journey. I’m just feeling very privileged.

The Ireland full-back has had a frustrating start to his Lions tour because of a calf injury that prevented him from missing Leinster’s end-of-season victory in the United Rugby Championship.

After England’s Elliot Daly faced off against the Western Force by scoring two tries and putting in an impressive performance, the battle for the full-back shirt is now far-out in his absence and with Blair Kinghorn, who will arrive in Brisbane on Monday evening following Toulouse’s victory in the Top 14.

“It’s been a frustrating couple of weeks since I missed the Leinster final, and possibly not being able to participate as much as I would have liked,” I said.