Hugo Keenan

Hugo Keenan is the least dramatic world-class player in Irish rugby, and that is close to the whole point.

He debuted in 2020 and then simply did not stop being selected. Under the high ball he is as reliable as any full-back in the game — a sevens background shows in the timing of the jump and the willingness to take contact in the air — and his positional reading means Ireland’s back field rarely gets caught square.

The attacking contribution is real but understated. He picks lines from depth rather than beating people from a standing start, and his counter-attack is usually a decision to keep the ball alive rather than a step.

Ireland have built their kicking game on the assumption that whatever comes back is dealt with. That confidence is worth more than a highlight reel.

The risk of a player like this is that the consistency gets taken for granted until it stops. He is now on the wrong side of thirty, and the honest question for Ireland is whether anyone else offers the same certainty in the air.