Hugo Keenan is relishing his rivalry with the “electric” Michael Lowry as he bids to regain Ireland’s full-back role for Saturday’s tantalising Six Nations showdown with England.
Keenan’s run of 18 consecutive starts for his country was broken in round three of the tournament when head coach Andy Farrell opted to hand a Test debut to in-form Ulster player Lowry.
The international newcomer seized his opportunity, lighting up Dublin with an exceptional, two-dry display in the 57-6 win over Italy.
Leinster player Keenan is expected to take back the No 15 jersey at Twickenham but has welcomed the increased competition.
He said: “Mikey went great, didn’t he? He’s electric and he got to show that and it’s great for him.
“He’s such a good guy, such a gent and he’s been playing great rugby for Ulster so in fairness to him he deserved his shot and he took it.
“He got his two tries and I suppose you saw with all the smiles on the faces of the lads how much it meant to the whole team.
“It was a great to get another lad another debut and it also adds to the depth in the squad. If you look at any position, there’s always going to be competition and it’s a healthy thing to have.
“There’s six or seven back three (players) in here and we’re all champing at the bit; all of us trying to put our hands up and take that jersey, so it’s definitely healthy and it’s great to have.”
Ireland and England are playing catch-up to Grand Slam-chasing France in the battle for championship glory.
A capacity crowd of around 82,000 is expected for this weekend’s clash in London, with the losers set to be eliminated from title contention.
Keenan has never played in front of a full stadium at Twickenham, or experienced it as a spectator.
The 25-year-old admits Ireland – who have lost five of seven away matches under Farrell – must handle the hostile environment better than they did during last month’s 30-24 defeat to Les Bleus in Paris.
“These are the weeks you want to be involved in and it’s a huge challenge over there in Twickenham with that crowd,” he said.
“I’ve played there in an empty stadium (in the Autumn Nations Cup) and then in the London Sevens as well, so I’ve never properly experienced a full 80,000 Six Nations game over there.
“We’ve been chatting about it during the week, what sort of atmosphere we’ll be coming up against.
“I’m sure there will be loads of Irish there. You can always see green over there, the lads were even saying 20-25,000.
“If they (England) get on the front foot, it can get loud, they can get into the game quick and that’s one of the things you have to mentally prepare for.
“It was a challenge for us against France and maybe something we didn’t do well enough, so it’s important that we focus on that. But ultimately it’s all about us this week.”
