Rob Kearney

Robert Kearney (born 26 March 1986) is an Irish former rugby union player. He played for 15 years for Leinster followed by a six-month stint in Australia, playing for Perth based side Western Force. He also played over a decade for the Ireland national rugby union team with whom he earned 95 caps, and went on two British & Irish Lions tours in 2009 and 2013. As a youth he also played rugby union for Clongowes Wood College and Gaelic football for Louth in the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship.[1]

This article is about the Irish rugby player. For the American strongman, see Rob Kearney (strongman).

Rob Kearney
Kearney playing for Ireland during the 2015 Rugby World Cup
Date of birth (1986-03-26) 26 March 1986
Place of birthCooley Peninsula, County Louth, Ireland
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight94 kg (14.8 st; 207 lb)
SchoolClongowes Wood College
UniversityUniversity College Dublin
Notable relative(s)Dave Kearney (brother)
Children1
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fullback
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2005–2020
2020–2021		 Leinster
Western Force		 219
8		 (238)
(5)
Correct as of 11 August 2021
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2006–2007 Ireland Wolfhounds 5 (13)
2007–2019 Ireland 95 (82)
2009, 2013 British & Irish Lions 3 (5)
Correct as of 19 October 2019

Early life and education

Kearney was born and raised on a dairy farm in the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth. Like many of his peers, he got involved in athletics at an early age. The dominant sport in the area is Gaelic football. As a youth, Kearney played Gaelic for Naomh Mhuire, and in the Cooley Kickhams underage setup, before graduating to the Cooley senior football team at the age of 17 in 2004 and also Louth at minor level.[1][2] [3]

Kearney attended Clongowes Wood College in County Kildare for his secondary education. After his Leaving Certificate he moved to University College Dublin, where he studied Arts. He graduated in April 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.[4]

Club career

UCD

Kearney attended University College Dublin on a sports scholarship where he played for the rugby team. He graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. In 2005 he helped the U-20s team win the McCorry Cup, beating Dublin University Football Club in the final.[5]

In 2018, Kearney was awarded the UCD Alumni Award in Sport.[6]

Leinster

Kearney played for Leinster at both schoolboy and U-19 level before going onto represent them as a senior. He scored a hat-trick of tries on his debut for Leinster in a pre-season friendly win over Parma.

He made his Celtic League debut for Leinster in 2005 in a 22–20 defeat away to the Ospreys. He made 32 appearances in the competition, scoring eight tries, with three penalties during a period in September 2006, when usual place kicker, Felipe Contepomi was injured. Kearney played in his first Heineken Cup game in a 19–22 defeat against Bath at the RDS on 22 October 2005. It was the first of 10 appearances scoring ten tries in the process.[7] He was part of Leinster's Heineken Cup winning team in 2009[8] but missed the 2011 final due to injury.[9] On 21 May 2012, the day after Leinster won their second straight Heineken Cup he was announced as the ERC Player of the Year for 2012. During the 2011–12 campaign he started all nine European matches scoring six tries.[10] He was crowned Leinster player of the year for the 2011–12 season.[11]

Kearney confirmed his departure from Leinster on 24 September 2020.[12]

Western Force

In late September 2020, it was confirmed that Kearney had signed a one-year contract with Australian side Western Force.[13] Kearney made his Force debut in an 11–27 defeat to the Brumbies on 19 February 2021.[14] Kearney announced his retirement from rugby after one season with Western Force in Super Rugby AU and Super Rugby Trans-Tasman.[15] Following his retirement, Kearney returned to Louth GAA club Cooley Kickhams where he began training in August 2021 for the first time since 2005.[16]

International career

Ireland

Kearney represented Ireland at schoolboy and U-19 level, and toured with Ireland A in the 2006 Churchill Cup.

Kearney was first called into the Irish training squad for 2005's autumn internationals, but didn't play. He was named in the Irish squad to the 2007 summer tour of Argentina and earned his first cap against Argentina on 2 June 2007 in a 16-0 defeat. During the 2008 Six Nations Championship he scored two tries, one against Scotland and one against England.[17] He was a member of the victorious Ireland team that won the 2009 Six Nations Championship, Triple Crown and Grand Slam.[18] One of the most famous incidents in Kearney's career was a high tackle incident involving Italy's Andrea Masi in the first minute of a game. The incident was taken as an indication of the danger posed by Kearney in attack.[19] Kearney missed almost a year — from November 2010 until August 2011 — due to a knee injury that required surgery.[20]

In the 2011 Rugby World Cup Kearney was selected but was injured for the first game against the United States; however, he played in all the other matches which took Ireland through to the quarter-finals, in which they were knocked out by Wales, 22–10. Kearney was selected in the Ireland squad for the 2012 Six Nations Championship and named in the starting team to play Wales in the opening match.[21] He played in all the other games, which saw Ireland finish third in the table. Kearney was also in the first Irish rugby team in 39 years to beat Australia on Australian soil, in the 2018 summer series. He was named in the Ireland squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, starting three of Ireland’s five matches and splitting time at fullback with Jordan Larmour.

British & Irish Lions

Kearney was named in the British & Irish Lions squad for the 2009 tour to South Africa.[22] He made his Lions test debut as a substitute in the 26–21 first test defeat in Durban.[23][24] Due to an injury to Lee Byrne, Kearney was selected again for the second test in Pretoria.[24] He scored the only try for the Lions in a 28–25 defeat.[25] He then played in the final test in Johannesburg which the Lions won 28–9.[26]

On 30 April 2013, Kearney was named in his second British & Irish Lions squad.[27]

Honours

Leinster

Ireland

Lions

Individual

  • European Player of the Year (1): 2012
  • Leinster Rugby Player of the Year (1): 2012
  • IRUPA Players' Player of the Year winners (1): 2012

Personal life

Kearney is the third of five children; he has an older brother, Richard, a younger brother Dave (who played for Leinster) and a sister, Sara, the youngest of the five children. His elder brother Ross died following an accident in 1988, aged 6 years. Kearney married Jess Redden in 2021, and their son was born in 2023.[28]

In February 2015, Kearney was announced as the newest brand ambassador for Newbridge Silverware.[29]

Kearney is a seventh cousin of U.S. President Joe Biden.[30]

References
  1. Kearney just taking it all in his stride Independent.ie, 14 February 2009
  2. Win extra special for Cooley Kickhams Argus.ie, 25 May 2009
  3. "Rob Kearney: From a long line of farming rugby players".
  4. Graduation day for Irish international rugby player University College Dublin, 27 April 2010
  5. Senior Squad Archived 9 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine UCD Rugby Football Club
  6. "ROB KEARNEY". UCD Alumni Awards. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  7. Profiles: Rob Kearney Archived 27 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine Leinster Rugby
  8. Leicester 16–19 Leinster BBC Sport, 23 May 2009
  9. Kearney gutted to miss out Sky Sports, 17 May 2011
  10. "Kearney wins top European award".
  11. "Kearney Crowned Leinster Player Of The Year". Irish Rugby. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  12. "Rob Kearney pens emotional farewell letter as he bows out at Leinster". The42. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  13. "Rob Kearney signs one-year deal with Australian side Western Force". The42. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  14. "CLINICAL BRUMBIES TOO GOOD FOR THE FORCE IN PERTH". Super Rugby. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  15. @KearneyRob (23 June 2021). "The past 6 months have been incredibly enjoyable and an experience I'm grateful to the Western Force for allowing me. I look forward to watching this club continue to grow and go from strength to strength" (Tweet). Retrieved 24 June 2021 – via Twitter.
  16. "Rob Kearney returns to GAA with Cooley Kickhams". RTÉ. 11 August 2021.
  17. "Healy and Sexton in Ireland squad". BBC Sport. 15 January 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2008.
  18. "Wales 15–17 Ireland". BBC Sport. 22 March 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
  19. "Keeping his head in heat of battle". The Irish Times.
  20. “Kearney revels in return”, Eurosport.
  21. "Rugby Union: Ireland Name Starting XV to Face Wales in RBS 6 Nations 2012 Opener". The Global Herald. 1 February 2012. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  22. "British & Irish Lions tour squad announced". Lions Rugby. 21 April 2009. Archived from the original on 24 April 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
  23. South Africa 26 British and Irish Lions 21: match report The Telegraph, 20 June 2009
  24. Lions tour over for injured Lee Byrne Archived 2 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine London Evening Standard, 25 June 2009
  25. South Africa 28–25 Lions BBC Sport, 27 June 2009
  26. South Africa 9–28 Lions BBC Sport, 4 July 2009
  27. "Warburton to lead British and Irish Lions". Archived from the original on 3 May 2013.
  28. Jewell, Bryony (25 August 2023). "Jess Redden And Rob Kearney Welcome First Baby". EVOKE. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  29. "Model moment! Rob Kearney joins Amy Huberman & Aoife Walsh as face of Newbridge". evoke.ie. 16 February 2015. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  30. Rowan, Kate (8 November 2020). "Rob Kearney on the day he met 'cousin' Joe Biden — and his return visit to the White House". The Telegraph.
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