A REMARKABLE SUMMER is still only sinking in for Hugo Keenan. At 26, the Leinster fullback returned from Ireland’s summer tour to New Zealand – his first Test tour – as a history-maker, playing a key role in the squad which captured a first ever win in New Zealand and first series win against the All Blacks.
“It was great to experience a tour with Ireland,” Keenan says.
“It was my first one, so I really enjoyed it. It was just a great experience to be involved in that group and that tour, getting to know lads much better. You’re spending four weeks with lads every day so you really build on your connections and there’s a lot of learnings over there, whether it’s from the first game and experiences I can hopefully take with me into this season with Leinster and Ireland as well. It was an enjoyable trip.
“Got a bit of downtime (after), stayed over in Australia for two weeks.
“We went to a few cities, so did Byron Bay, Brisbane, the Whitsundays, that was nice and chilled, then Sydney as well and caught up with a few mates along the way.
“I’d never been over to that side of the world, so took a bit of downtime then and then back to Dublin and back to reality and training away.”
The big wins in New Zealand went some way to soothing the pain of a disappointing end to the last season with Leinster, the province beaten by La Rochelle with the last play of the game in a thrilling Champions Cup final before being shocked by the Bulls at the RDS in the URC semi-finals.
For the first time since 2017, Leinster ended the campaign without a trophy in the cabinet. A month later, the province provided the bulk of the squad that took a well-deserved 2-1 series win against the All Blacks.
“You can’t really let the highs be too high or the lows be too low,” Keenan continues.
You sort of have to take a more rounded approach, and can’t lose the run of yourself. That’s something we have learned (with Leinster). It was a bit of a rollercoaster at the end of the season, it was gutting those losses from Leinster and I’m still hurting from it. The only way you can use it is for extra motivation, extra desire and want to go forward.
“After such a disappointing end with Leinster it was a good way to bounce back and finish the summer on a high. It means you’re coming back in in good spirits but I think we still need to hold on to the hurt from last year and how that season ended for us to motivate us to go one better this year and crack into it again.”
There’s a fresh feeling around the Leinster squad given a couple of high profile changes on the coaching staff. Former Leinster flanker Seán O’Brien has replaced Denis Leamy as the province’s contact skills coach, while former Crusaders man Andrew Goodman has stepped into the shoes vacated by Felipe Contepomi, who has returned to Argentina to join Michael Cheika’s coaching team.
For Keenan, Goodman represents an exciting addition given the style of play he helped implement across a hugely successful spell with the Crusaders.
It’s been great to have a few fresh ideas and fresh faces in. We’ve only had him (Goodman) for about a week and a half now so he’s doing a bit of observing, he wants to see how we do it and not try force anything on us early.
“He’s obviously got a huge amount of experience from the Crusaders and his previous experiences in New Zealand, so he’s definitely going to have new ideas for us, new moves and plays, so that’s all going to be really exciting as a back.
“Felipe was brilliant for me and progressing my game, and hopefully Goody will be just as good and even better.
“His credentials speak for themselves. The success the Crusaders have had, the style of rugby played down in New Zealand, the players the Crusaders are producing and their domination down there, I’m sure he’s had a such an impact (on that) and is one of the reasons why they’ve been so successful, so hopefully he can bring that to Leinster.
“It’s been a good start with Goody so looking forward to the next while (working with him).”
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