He won a series for the Lions. But Hugo Keenan is hooked on State of Origin

Ireland fullback Hugo Keenan is happy to be back on familiar territory in Australia less than 12 months after he scored the series-winning try in the second Test for the Lions in Melbourne.

The Leinster star missed the Six Nations due to hip and thumb injuries and has not played Test rugby since the British and Irish Lions tour last year. The memories of the MCG are fading, but Keenan is focused on creating new ones, starting this Saturday for Ireland against the Wallabies at Allianz Stadium in the inaugural Nations Championship.

“There definitely is still some good memories of Australia and that second [Lions] Test and the try and whatnot,” Keenan said.

“It’s sort of cool looking back on it, but there’s, I suppose, no point dwelling on it now. There are more memories to be made. It’s a big challenge for us again this week and over the next few weeks.”

The 30-year-old’s pathway to becoming one of Ireland’s most important players was not typical. As a youngster, he played for his Dublin high school’s under-14 C team. But it didn’t deter him, and he worked his way up to eventually secure a contract with Leinster.

Over the last two seasons, Leinster have partnered with NRL club the Melbourne Storm to run a unique exchange program under which two younger players from each team trade countries and codes for a month.

Keenan and his Leinster teammates have become firm fans of the NRL and the Irishman enjoyed visiting 4 Pines Park to watch Manly take on the Storm last Saturday night.

“State of Origin over the last few years is the one that you watch back home,” Keenan said. “The level of intensity, everybody loves it and it’s always on a Wednesday, and we watch it in Leinster and there’s a good buzz about it.

“I’ve been trying to get into the actual NRL a bit more and Leinster now have a connection with Melbourne Storm as well, so we’ve had two of their academy lads over in November. So if I had to choose a team, it probably would be Storm because of that affiliation.

“The Manly game was cool as well, just because the atmosphere was class when we walked in. It was about 45 minutes to kick off and the stadium was nearly already full. There was such a good buzz around. The hill was packed out, so that was sort of cool to see that proper club feel to it and everyone in seats early having their cans of beer or whatever and a good buzz about the place.”

Leinster have sent one of their brightest stars, 20-year-old five-eighth Caspar Gabriel, to experience life at the Storm, alongside back-rower Josh Ericson. Keenan believes the partnership between the clubs is only going to help the development of young talent.

“I think it’s a cool partnership to have,” he said. “I definitely would have loved to have done it. I think getting yourself out of the comfort zone is one of the reasons why I went back to Sevens.

“It’s something similar to just challenge yourself in different environments, different codes of the game and learn new skills and progress yourself.”

Stan Sport is the only place to watch every match of the Nations Championship live and on demand. Wallabies matches are also available live on Nine and 9Now.