Keohane relishing 7s action

Keohane is probably still best known in Ireland for her GAA exploits in both football and camogie and has been part of All Ireland football winning sides with Cork ?? the highest accolade in the game.

She began playing mini rugby in Youghal RFC but it wasn??t until she went to study physiotherapy at University Limerick that she took the game seriously.

Keohane joined the hugely successful UL Bohs side and just 12 months later Munster came looking.Having initially impressed wearing blue instead of green with an Irish select side who played a raft of top 7s tournaments, it wasn??t long before Keohane was making a big impact.

??We had been known as the Irish Elite for a while and we had to wear blue jerseys; we couldn??t wear?˜green for some reason,?? she said.

??But it was against Belgium that I got my first official?˜ cap and?˜ the feeling of putting on a green jersey was amazing. I don??t think you could ever forget your first cap.??

The Elites then officially became the Irish 7s side, and training camps began to take precedence in Enfield, County Meath, and every weekend.?˜ It was tough at the start; two six-hour day sessions ?? the Sunday sessions in particular a gruelling affair ?? but it??s paid off for coach Jon Skurr??s side.

The Exiles might fly in on the Friday night, but we??d make our way up on the Saturday morning and the format of training is to really replicate a 7s tournament.?˜ So, we??d have three 90-minute training sessions on the Saturday, with downtime in between, strictly for rest.?˜ Then Sunday it??s the same format. Initially getting used to Sunday sessions was the toughest thing, having to pick yourself up after six hours the day before, and your body??s just telling you ??no more??, but you just get accustomed to it.??Keohane works out almost every day, taking in weights, conditioning and skills sessions, with 7am starts at University Limerick.?˜ Not so bad she adds, ??when you consider Niamh Briggs, who is a guard, might be coming off nights, and then doing a weights session!??Presently studying for her final exams in UL, she has completed 1,000 hours in a practical placement, which finished two days before she flew to Hong Kong recently for the invitational IRB 7s tournament.

There, she played a part in helping Ireland win the Bowl final.

?˜??We finished 9th overall but we weren??t incredibly happy with our performance,?? she adds.

??We thought we had more to offer. But technically the last competitive game we had played before that tournament was eight months previous at the World Cup qualifiers, so I think we were judging ourselves on last year??s performances and expected to pick up where we left off.?˜ But with the Bowl final win, at least we took something away from it.??From there she travelled to China for Ireland??s second IRB event, where they won the Plate final.

The Claire Molloy-captained side claimed two major scalps in Guanghzou ?? against Australia ?˜in the semi-final ?? when a late?˜ penalty by Keohane proved vital in the 15-14 win ?? and the Netherlands in the final.The only side to hurt?˜ Ireland??s pride was the reigning World Series table-toppers New Zealand (5-31).

??The win saw us finish fifth overall, and in beating two circuit teams (Australia and Netherlands) it??s given us confidence that we can compete at this level. We just have to concentrate on being more consistent now. We had started well against the likes of New Zealand, but then we tuned out in the second-half, and in 7s you can??t afford that ?? it??s just a 14-minute game.??

Next up is the London 7s in May, where number 10th seed Ireland will face the USA (4), Canada (5) and Russia (7) in Twickenham.

Following that, will be the European 7s in France, then off to Marbella in Spain for the second round of the Europeans, before travelling to Russia on June 24 for the World Cup.As to Ireland??s chances, Keohane is optimistic, yet realistic.

??We??ve a tough group in the reigning champions Australia, South Africa and China, but we??re relishing playing them. We??re definite underdogs in the group, and because of world rankings we??re lower than all of them. Hong Kong and China gave us confidence, but 7s is about being smart and we??ve had to learn very quickly.?˜ We??re a little behind a lot of the other teams, but the more you play the smarter you get.??