Hugo Keenan has ruled out the Paris Olympics but Sevens supremo James Topping says that other Ireland stars could also follow Antoine Dupont to the Games.
The France captain caused a stir by deciding to throw his lot in with his country's Sevens from early next year, thus missing the 2024 Six Nations.
It is unlikely at this stage that any member of Andy Farrell's Ireland squad would follow suit, with Keenan targeting a Grand Slam defence followed by URC and Champions Cup redemption after two years without a trophy for Leinster.
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Keenan aside, provincial and Test stars Jimmy O’Brien, Rob Baloucoune, Shane Daly and Nick Timoney were in the Ireland Sevens set-up in the past.
Topping said: "Definitely I’d be interested in anybody, I’m always answering emails and phone calls. I think it’s almost down to the player, at the end of the day.
"I think any team now, every union will be looking at that (Dupont) and saying, 'OK, right, who have we got who’s interested'.
"Obviously, it's France's home Olympics but maybe for us it's our home Olympics as well. I’m not too sure we’ll have one in Ireland ever, it's as close as we can get.
"I imagine (IRFU performance director) David Nucifora would talk to the players. Talk probably to Andy Farrell, first of all, talk to the provinces and sort of gauge what their reaction would be.
"The centralised contracted players who are on an Irish contract, they would have more of a say on what they do.
"I think the balancing act for a lot of them is what have they achieved so far in rugby, what do they want to achieve. Maybe the younger ones wouldn’t see this as such a good move, as a stepping stone.
"Maybe the more established guys see this as an opportunity because they know they could go back into 15-a-side straight away and it wouldn’t be a waste of their time - it would be something they could add onto their CV.
"So yeah, there will obviously be discussions with those guys to gauge interest. We’re run by the union, our players. France is slightly different, the way they operate.
"We're probably in a better standing than they are to have players come in but yeah, it's tough. You had a World Cup, you’ve got Six Nations, you got URC and European Cups - it's finding time, finding commitment, injuries on other teams, it all has to be sort of weighed up.
"You have to make a bid (for them). I have to weigh up the options of what are they going to bring to that team. We certainly played against teams in the past, the southern hemisphere teams where it happens more where there are experienced internationals come in."
Topping mentions that the Ireland Sevens have played the likes of Fiji, who have brought in five or six players with 15s World Cup experience.
But the crucial point is whether a player can add value if he wants to try for Paris.
"Certainly, there are players in the 15s game who would be fantastic at 7s. There are certainly some players who I don’t think maybe would be good just the mentality that’s required," he said.
"We have to be smart, we have to have buy in from everybody involved and it would a case of if they did want to push themselves, there has to be a definite structure for them to come in and give it a go.
"You’ve got to earn your spot. You’ve got to be fair - and if they are the best player you pick them.
"It’s a big learning curve. We’ve got guys who have come in, who have played maybe age grade level here 18s and 20s and to get into the Sevens system and the speed it’s played and the structures there are in the game, it takes a lot mentally because it’s totally different.
"Guys have to get their heads around that. The beauty of our guys is because they do it all the time, they are instinctive and that’s the way Sevens is played.
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