Sunday, January 22, 2o23: The Carrick-on-Suir RFC grounds at Tybroughney may not be where Hugo Keenan’s rugby story began, but it’s nonetheless part of the club’s lore than Ireland’s full-back togged out here in his pre-teens.
“I played once here for the club at Under-12,” recalled the Leinster number 15, whose mother Avril (nee Dowley) hails from Tybroughney.
“I was down staying with the cousins and they needed an extra body out on the field so me and my brother Robert togged out for Carrick that day. I’m not too sure what position I played that day but I was playing minis with Lansdowne at the time; I started off in the second row when I was about 10 or 11, when you still don’t really have a position. And it was only when I went to school in Blackrock that I decided I was going to be a back.”
He continued: “For the match down here , my uncle Louis was coaching me too; their house is only 500 metres up the road there. I’d have come to a few games here as well, hung around the field and kicked the ball with the cousins so I’ve some good memories of Carrick and it was great to be asked down to kick off the club’s centenary.”
That sole outing against Clonmel was recalled locally prior to Keenan’s senior test debut against Italy in October 2020, in which he landed two tries in a 50-17 Six Nations victory in Dublin. His four Dowley uncles – Robert, Brian, Louis and Colin - all donned Carrick colours while his grandfather Robert Dowley played for both Carrick and Munster in the 1950s and 60s.
Hugo was guest of honour at Tybroughney to mark the beginning of Carrick RFC’s Centenary Year, having grabbed a brace of tries in Leinster’s 36-10 Champions Cup win over Racing 92 at the Aviva Stadium the previous night.
And having missed Leinster’s first seven matches in this season’s United Rugby Championship and returning to match readiness to face South Africa in the Autumn Series, resuming regular service has proven welcome.
Flying with Leinster
“It was a good win in the end,” said Hugo, cutting a relaxed figure in the club’s function room. “We were tested for the whole 80 minutes. I think we didn’t take our chances early on; we gave away the ball on their line once or twice and you have to be clinical against the likes of Racing. If you give the French teams a sniff and don’t kill them off early, they’re serious sides with serious players, with the likes of Finn Russell in the (Racing) squad. It was always going to be a tough game and it didn’t help that we were a little slow out of the blocks but yeah, I was delighted to get in for a couple of tries, to get the win in the end. And it was a good one for us, a proper test. It wasn’t a walk in the park at all so it’ll do us good for the rest of the season.”
Ulster await at the Aviva on April 1st (kick-off: 5:30pm) as Leinster bid to banish the memory of last May’s Champions Cup Final defeat to Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle.
“I know Ulster aren’t probably in the best of form at the moment but we all know what a serious side they are. They’re going to be coming to the Aviva and it won’t be as much of a home match for us given how well they know the surroundings. The interpros are always tough; we’d a good battle with Connacht in the Last 16 last year, Ulster are one of the tougher draws we could have gotten but we’re excited for it now.”
Hugo presenting one of his test jerseys to Carrick-on-Suir RFC's Donal Moriarty at Tybroughney as the club's Centenary Year was officially launched. Photo: Ken Murphy
The win over Racing was Leinster’s 16th of the season, with win number 17 clocked up last Saturday in a 38-14 URC win over Cardiff at the RDS. The manner of that Marseille Final defeat has clearly stung the province given how unrelenting their record has proven in the interim. Keenan agreed.
“That’s the big motivator for me, personally and for a lot of the squad,” he said. “We’re just focusing on that fifth star, that’s the ultimate goal for this year and it’s driven us on this year so far and it’s important not to forget that and to use it as that extra bit of motivation and determination to go one step further this year.”
Life at full-back
Going back to Keenan’s early years in Blackrock during which he moved through the backline berths, what does he feel led to his long-term tenancy at full-back?
“As I got older and I developed, I got a bit quicker; initially I probably wasn’t quick enough to be on the wing or physical enough to be a back three player, I was more of a small out-half. It was during a Tens tournament in Fifth Year when I scored a few tries and got the ball in a bit of open play that my coaches decided maybe it was time to move me into the back three. So it wasn’t anything to do with a particular decision that I made, I can still remember Mr English was the teacher who made that decision for me and I really kicked on from there. I developed late and got taller and kept persisting and pushing up through the ranks and finally made the senior team in my final year in school.”
A member of the Irish Under-20 team (featuring Andrew Porter, Jacob Stockdale and James Ryan) which lost the 2016 World Cup Final to England, a successful spell with the Ireland 7s followed before Keenan broke into the test squad.
“I came up through age grade teams with Andrew and James and they stepped up to senior level pretty quick; they were 21, 22 when they got their first caps so that gave myself and a lot of the other lads who’ve come through since a lot more confidence when you see your peers and friends who you’ve played with stepping up at international level.”
Hugo added: “They’ve obviously performed and it’s given coaches confidence in them but not only them but the next batch of young lads coming through. I made my Irish debut at 24 and it’s been a good few years for me.”
Six Nations ambition
Momentum with Leinster is matched with a natural level of expectation at test level ahead of next Saturday’s Six Nations kick-off in Cardiff (kick-off: 2:15pm).
The world’s number one ranked side head into a huge year with a massive target on their backs in the wake of the New Zealand tour and an Autumn Series clean sweep. But being named in the Six Nations squad represented the first obstacle Hugo Keenan had to clear, and it’s a selection he never takes for granted.
“100 per cent. You can never assume that it’ll happen. It’s always a selection which is based on who is on form, particularly in the last couple of matches before the squad is named and there are always tight calls. The back three is always very competitive and you only have to look at some of the lads like Shane Daly who have missed out and are playing brilliantly. But in terms of the team, yeah, it’s an exciting time. Things are going well for us but as you said there’s definitely a target on our backs for not only the teams we played in Autumn but everyone we’ll be facing over the coming weeks.
“Wales are going to be tough from the get-go with Warren Gatland back in charge so that’s going to be huge for us and that’s our only focus right now. Wales in Cardiff is all we’re thinking about right now; I’ve never played in a full Millennium Stadium and apparently it’s very noisy and they’re going to be very fired up with a new coach and all that goes with it. But we’ll just be taking it game by game. It’ll be good to have France and England in the Aviva; they’ll be two sell-outs and I’m sure we’ll have brilliant atmospheres for both.”
As for the World Cup? It’s simply not on the agenda right now, according to Keenan. “I still don’t have a Grand Slam to my name or a Champions Cup with Leinster so there’s a lot of important titles and silverware to play for before the World Cup so I’m definitely not focusing on that just yet.”
Should the best case scenarios for country and province materialise, England travel to Dublin on March 18 (kick-off: 5pm) with a Championship on the line while the Champions Cup Final is on home soil come May 20.
“A final in Dublin was the motivation we had to get the maximum points and it’s given us the opportunity to play in the Aviva in the Last 16 and into the remaining knock-out games after that. It really would be incredibly special for all that to fall into place and to have that support behind us. But there’s a lot of rugby to be played between now and then and we’ll be taking nothing for granted.”
With thanks to the Carrick-on-Suir RFC Committee
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