From 7s To XVs: Baloucoune, Keenan & O’Brien

Saturday evening in the Aviva Stadium marked a reunion in an Ireland jersey for Robert Baloucoune, Hugo Keenan and debutant Jimmy O’Brien. Wind the clock back to the London 7s in 2018 and the Ireland Men’s side won bronze in their first appearance on the HSBC World Rugby 7s series.

The winning team shot shows all three proudly wearing their medals alongside 7s stars like Terry Kennedy and Jordan Conroy. O’Brien and Keenan both got on the scoresheet that weekend as Ireland announced themselves in style on the 7s circuit.

Twenty six minutes into the Bank of Ireland Nations series clash with South Africa and Stuart McCloskey picked up an injury. Step forward O’Brien and suddenly all three were on the pitch again representing Ireland.

We caught up with the trio at the IRFU High Peformance this week to chat about the game and their route to the Ireland jersey.