Being Hugo Keenan is an 80-minute ride. It usually always is. From his first high ball catch early into match against Scotland, the Irish fullback maintained an ever-present residency in every aspect of Ireland’s play except for the specialist set pieces at scrums and lineouts.
Keenan is a ghost of a player who appears everywhere and often, as he did against Scotland, showing immaculate timing.
He was ubiquitously excellent from the first take of the match after 28 seconds following an Ali Price clearance from the Scotland scrumhalf, to his high ball, GAA fetch from Johnny Sexton’s pass for his second try of the match on 39 minutes.
While Keenan was always involved, there was a prosaic way about how he went about his energy sapping business, conducting himself without fanfare or affectation, even as Ireland’s top try scorer on the day.
Dipping his toe into all sorts of roles of Irish attacking and defensive strategy, Keenan made the difficult things look commonplace and everyday. They were not. But that has become his style. It’s an honesty of performance that coach Andy Farrell and Irish fans have come to know and understand.
While his first contribution was taking a high ball, his second after 10 minutes was a try saving tackle on Scotland wing Darcy Graham who was sniffing glory on the right until Keenan pressing up on the winger and took him down.
Minutes later it was Keenan taking another high ball from a Scotland clearance and as the ball fell, the grass gave way to his braking studs and his feet skidded towards the touchline. The referee and touch judge saw no contact between stud and whitewash.
But the catch triggered a reaction on social media as Keenan’s yellow boots showed what appeared to be the toe of his boot inching across the line and therefore in touch. Play on.
It took 26 minutes before his supporting role drew reward with the first of his two tries. The ball originated from an Irish lineout on the right with Josh van der Flier feeding Jamison Gibson Park from the melee. The ball went left to Johnny Sexton, who hit Stuart McCloskey before he quickly gave it back to Sexton.
The Irish outhalf loaded up Bundee Aki, who burst through and supplies a supporting Garry Ringrose. The Irish centre carried forward at pace and spotted a green shirt in support blazing from deep down the left wing. The pass was slightly behind, but Keenan took it without breaking stride to finish in the corner, sliding in with Duhan van der Merwe coming from the other side but too late to sweep him into touch.
It was only minutes later that Ireland pressed again, with Gibson-Park taking the ball from a recycle and feeding to Sexton moving right. Sexton saw a clutter outside him so reacted by throwing an arcing pass high over the advancing bodies, high enough at least to still the players and halt the wave of attack.
Too high even for Keenan who was outside Aki in an outside centre position. The fullback caught the ball with both feet off the ground, landed and accelerated as Aki slightly blocked Van der Merwe moving across.
Keenan somehow got over with three Scotland shirts around him. Never should have. But he found a way to make the yards.
The 27-year-old is rarely out of the action. Early in the second half he took down the South African born Van der Merwe, not an easy task. That’s before he strolled over to the touchline to Peter O’Mahony to give him a calming pat on the back as tempers flared after the Irish backrow went in for a second bite at Scotland players with Dan Sheehan and Scottish prop Pierre Schoeman tumbling over the pitch side hoarding.
Again, just after half time with Ireland in the attack, it was Keenan coming up in support in midfield, filling in just outside of Sexton and taking Sexton’s first pass running right to left. Keenan served Gibson-Park who gave the final pass to Ireland’s mobile hooker, Sheehan, who dashed over the line in the corner to maintain his growing record of scoring tries.
Keenan is not without error and late in the game he sensibly called a mark to slow things down with Ireland ahead. But failing to find touch with the kick, seconds later Scotland were back at Ireland in possession.
But for every misfire there are a dozen things Keenan does so expertly from his kick-chase game, which he did on the hour to force a knock-on from the Scottish replacement fullback Ollie Smith, to his tackling, securing high balls and his support running.
What is not always visible is the aerobic capacity of the Irish fullback and against Scotland, it was again on display. To complete the running he does, to cover the ground he covers and to scramble back into position to conduct the primary functions of fullback and then support the next attack takes an astonishing amount of cardio.
For the two tries Keenan scored in Stade de France, half a dozen or more support runs fizzled out. That was his game, uncommonly ever-present.
