Rob Kearney retired from rugby in 2021 as one of the embellished gamers in Irish historical past, leaving the game after 4 Six Nations titles, 4 Champions Cup triumphs and two excursions as a British and Irish Lion in 2009 and 2013.
For a lot of, he’s finest remembered for his sensational performances in Lions colors towards South Africa throughout the 2009 sequence – a tour when he really introduced himself on a world stage, demonstrating a near-unrivalled capability underneath a excessive ball from full-back.
Hailing from County Louth on the east coast of Eire, Kearney’s majestic aerial energy stemmed in no small half from the very fact rugby is much from his hometown’s old flame, nor the game he performed most rising up. That, slightly, is Gaelic soccer.
“I was from a relatively sporty family but I’m from County Louth which didn’t have much rugby. It was a real Gaelic football county,” Kearney tells Sky Sports activities.
“I used to be fortunate the 2 seasons did not collide or conflict an excessive amount of and I might play a great deal of Gaelic soccer throughout the summer season and rugby within the winter.
“Rugby was a real big love and while I always missed Gaelic football a huge amount, I’m happy with the route I chose.”
Bizarrely a seventh cousin of former US President Joe Biden, Kearney appears again on the 2009 Lions tour and divulges the third Take a look at towards the Springboks to keep away from a sequence whitewash after two extraordinarily tight opening defeats took on excess of a sport of rugby.
It was a day when the very way forward for the touring aspect’s existence was in query, and the gamers felt it.
“There was an awful lot of pressure on the squad because all of a sudden it wasn’t just about the class of 2009,” Kearney says.
“We felt we had a real responsibility for the future of the Lions jersey and what that means to people. There was a huge amount of chat about that during the week.
“Ian McGeechan [2009 head coach], clearly a Lions legend for thus a few years, wasn’t shy about highlighting that and placing an actual duty on us to carry out and win.
“There were genuine question marks about the future of the Lions and that was extra difficult for us as players because there was a lot more than just 80 minutes of rugby on the line.
“The legacy and historical past of the Lions, what they stand for, what we wished future generations to consider the Lions was all on the road that day.”
The third Take a look at towards South Africa to keep away from a whitewash on the 2009 Lions tour grew to become ‘larger than 80 minutes of rugby’, says Kearney
Such a story had festered after which exploded into consciousness as a consequence of a run of Lions sequence defeats which was assured to be prolonged when Morne Steyn landed a 54-metre penalty at altitude in Pretoria with the ultimate kick of the second Take a look at for a 28-25 South Africa victory.
The 2005 tour to New Zealand and 3-0 sequence defeat underneath Clive Woodward had confirmed a catastrophe, whereas the 2001 tour to Australia underneath Graham Henry had seen the Lions throw away the possibility for victory in an eventual 2-1 sequence loss.
Defeat in 2009 meant the Lions can be with no sequence victory since 1997 for 16 years on the very least till 2013 – a tour in Australia they’d go on to win 2-1.
For many, successive 3-0 sequence whitewashes would have been unpalatable and doubtlessly worthy of ending the four-nations-as-one touring custom.
“Thankfully we put in a really good performance and won resoundingly well,” Kearney says, because the Lions performed angrily to safe a 28-9 victory.
The Lions beat South Africa 28-9 in Johannesburg, and have gone on to attain a 2013 sequence win vs Australia and 2017 sequence draw vs New Zealand
‘I used to be in fantasy land: From anticipating to overlook out to Take a look at Lion tryscorer’
Earlier in 2009, Kearney was a part of a Six Nations Grand Slam – the primary for Eire since 1948 – however vividly remembers watching the Lions squad announcement alone, unusually affected by a case of mumps.
“I remember exactly where I was as I was quite sick at the time, actually,” he says. “I hadn’t played for Leinster in a few months and was at home on my own.
“I used to be unbelievably delighted however I had mumps, which was fairly critical and I wasn’t certain if I used to be going to have the ability to go on tour. From the place I used to be that day to how the tour completed for me was very shocking.”
Kearney travelled to the 2009 Lions tour off the again of Eire’s first Six Nations Grand Slam since 1948
It is simple to neglect such can be Kearney’s eventual affect, however Wales’ Lee Byrne had established himself because the first-choice Lions full-back, with the previous having struggled with a niggly damage.
Byrne suffered a foot damage 37 minutes into the opening Take a look at in Durban, after which a critical thumb fracture in coaching to rule him out completely thereafter.
Kearney excelled off the bench and began in a second Take a look at wherein he slid over for a attempt in simply the seventh minute.
“I wasn’t disappointed as I knew Lee Byrne was always in the driving seat to start the first Test. I picked up a dead leg against Western Province that left me out for a couple of weeks, so to be honest I was absolutely delighted to be in the squad.
“I wasn’t anticipating to be as a result of as an out-and-out full-back, it is uncommon to select up a type of bench positions.
“The second Test was phenomenal and genuinely a dream come true. I thought I was living in a fantasy land because eight days before I wasn’t even expecting to get in the squad. And here I was starting, scoring the opening try.
“That entire sport was a little bit of a fantasy as properly, as a result of there are days in your profession the place you are simply completely and totally in your movement. That all the things you do appears to work. I used to be very fortunate I had a type of days on the most important stage for the Lions.”
Kearney battled over to attain within the nook for the opening attempt of the second Take a look at vs the Springboks
For all that his performances had been spectacularly good in South Africa that summer season, the opening two Exams had, nonetheless, introduced two Lions defeats.
For the then 23-year-old, it proved massively conflicting.
“It really was. I did a Sky Sports interview with Miles Harrison afterwards and he was talking all about my performance, but the only thing I could think was we’d lost the series and let it slip.
“I have been in some disillusioned dressing rooms by means of the years, however I’ll at all times keep in mind that one as being genuinely completely gutted.
“It just shows you sport is the tightest and finest of margins, and that’s why we love the game so much. It was really unfortunate because a decider would have been very special.
“If I have a look at the bottom intervals of my profession, the second Take a look at in 2009 is up there.”
A dejected and tearful Kearney following last-gasp second Take a look at defeat to South Africa on the 2009 Lions tour
‘Harm earlier than 2013 tour was so tense – it did not have the identical feeling of accomplishment’
4 years later Kearney was off the again of a 2012 wherein he was named European Participant of the Yr, however a hamstring damage simply previous to his last membership match of the season abruptly left his 2013 Lions tour possibilities in actual doubt.
Having travelled to Hong Kong with the Lions squad, Kearney was left ready in a hospital room following a scan that might decide whether or not he might proceed on to Australia or not – a second of immense nervousness.
“It was very stressful. Leinster had a Challenge Cup final the day before we departed and my hamstring just didn’t feel right in the warm-up, so I had to pull out.
“We travelled to Hong Kong to play the Barbarians there and I used to be so apprehensive. If the scan did not come again properly I might have been despatched again to Dublin.
“Thankfully the medical staff were happy it wasn’t going to be too long-term and I got back on the pitch two weeks later.
“By that time Leigh Halfpenny was taking part in rather well, his goal-kicking was phenomenal and he put himself in that front-runner place to assert the 15 jersey.”
Kearney was compelled to attend till the fifth sport to play on the 2013 Lions tour in Australia as a consequence of a hamstring damage
Certainly, the stark actuality of elite sport means experiencing the identical success and circumstances on the high are a uncommon incidence.
Kearney needed to wait till the fifth tour sport to play in 2013 as a consequence of his hamstring, by which level there have been solely two fixtures to go earlier than the primary Take a look at.
Ultimately, Halfpenny performed so properly that he was named Participant of the Collection in Australia whereas Kearney missed out on all three Exams – one thing made all of the extra testing, he says, as a consequence of his recollections of 2009.
“It was difficult because I got to experience the unbelievable highs of playing in the Tests in 2009. When you get a flavour and feeling of that, it’s the only thing you want to do again.
“I used to be disillusioned as a result of Tommy Bowe had an damage and there was chat internally and externally Halfpenny would possibly transfer to one of many wings and I would are available in at 15. There was a small little bit of hope.
“Leigh had done unbelievably well so I knew the writing was on the wall. From then on, the only way I was going to get in was an injury to him.
Kearney confronted the Waratahs, Brumbies and Rebels in 2013, however was omitted for the three Exams
“I didn’t play in any of the Test matches, and because I did in 2009, 2013 didn’t have the same feeling of achievement for me.
“Though there’s enormous involvement for all gamers and the entire squad are a part of a sequence win, it is not the identical in the event you’re not within the Take a look at staff.”
‘Not getting 100 Ireland caps my biggest low – I desperately wanted it’
A source of outstanding consistency for Ireland under Joe Schmidt, Kearney sits just outside the top 10 for most caps in Irish history.
In 2018 he became the first player from his nation to start in all 10 Tests of two Grand Slam campaigns – a record he still holds alone.
Looking back, though, it’s caps the 38-year-old somewhat surprisingly names as the greatest regret of his career.
“My largest low level can be not getting 100 caps for my nation. It was at all times one thing I actually desperately wished. It is an elite membership.
“I finished on 95 Irish caps – 98 if you include three Lions ones – but I missed 30 games with injury and 15 or so were little soft-tissue calf or hamstring injuries that could easily have gone my way.
“I at all times inform myself it is solely a quantity, nevertheless it was a quantity I desperately wished to get to.”
Kearney completed with 95 caps for Eire, failing to play once more following a disappointing 2019 World Cup for the squad
When it comes to highlights, Kearney’s thoughts turns to the Lions.
“Becoming a Lion ranks at the very top.
“Enjoying to your nation in a World Cup is unimaginable and one thing each child who’s into sport desires of. However the Lions is so particular it is ranked even a bit of greater than that.
“There’s a huge amount of prestige and history attached to that crest. It’s definitely the most special thing I’ve achieved from a rugby perspective.”
“Without fans there’d be no competition and new research by LetsHost shows local businesses with local domain names are key when fans are researching where to go and how to get there” – Kearney
