Ireland forwards coach Paul O’Connell confirmed that Hugo Keenan didn’t train with the rest of the squad in the High Performance Centre (HPC) on Thursday but was on hand, and that the fullback hasn’t been ruled out of Saturday week’s Six Nations Championship match against Wales at the Aviva Stadium (2.15).
He confirmed that Garry Ringrose, who has missed Ireland’s first two matches, and Peter O’Mahony, Bundee Aki and Tadhg Beirne, who weren’t considered for the Italian game because of knocks, all trained. O’Connell was asked if Ringrose would be available for Wales. “It looks like it, he trained today. He’s in good shape,” before updating the news that Aki and O’Mahony took part.
On Keenan, who suffered a knee injury in the 36-0 win over Italy, O’Connell said: “He didn’t train today, but he hasn’t been ruled out for Wales yet. He was at training, he took part in the organisation. No update, [he’s] still available for selection.
“Yeah, he plays a big role. He’s been injury-free for a long time, he’s an excellent player and there’s so much in fullback, covering backfield defensively and also in attack, recreating our attack by moving side to side. There’s a load of IP [Intellectual property] we’d miss, he plays a big leadership role. He’s a problem solver, highly regarded.
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“[It’s] probably good for us [in one respect], it makes us play someone else there if he doesn’t make it. I’m not sure yet where he’s at, we’d be hopeful.”
