Hugo Keenan becomes first 7s graduate to sign IRFU central contract

Ireland full-back Hugo Keenan has seen his stellar form rewarded with a three-year IRFU deal. The Leinster No15 was one of the players brought into the national team by Andy Farrell in 2020 after he succeeded Joe Schmidt. He has since made the position previously occupied by the now-retired Rob Kearney his own and he was the scorer of the opening try in last Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations win over France.

A statement read: “Ireland and Leinster full-back Hugo Keenan has signed a three-year IRFU contract that will see him continue his career in Ireland until the end of the 2025/26 season.

“Hugo made his international debut against Italy in October 2020 in the delayed Six Nations. Keenan has started 27 of Ireland’s last 29 games, scoring eight tries. He won a Triple Crown with Ireland in 2022 and played every minute of Ireland’s three-Test series against New Zealand.

“At U20s level, Keenan started every game for Ireland in 2016 across the Six Nations and the World Rugby U20 Championships where the team reached the final in Manchester. He is also an Ireland 7s international, competing in the shorter code from 2017 to 2019.

“He made his Leinster debut against Zebre in November 2016 and has since amassed 51 appearances for his province, scoring 13 tries and winning URC titles in 2020 and 2021.”

IRFU performance director David Nucifora said: “Hugo is the first player to come through the sevens programme to attain a central XVs contract. His dedication to improvement and his drive have got him to this point of his career and after impressing in his first season at senior international level, he has kicked on again over the past 12 months.

“He is the type of player that drives standards around him and he will have a key role to play for both Ireland and Leinster over the next few seasons.”

Keenan added: “I’m delighted to be part of two very competitive and ambitious environments with Ireland and Leinster. I’m enjoying my rugby and looking to improve each week and there are so many opportunities to learn more about the game with the quality of coaches we have at provincial and national level.”